Dreams of Power
by Her Sweetness
Summary: Marik and Malik are tired of never becoming world rulers, and always getting trounced by Yugi... Soon, Marik gets an idea that may change their luck. That's right... Marik and Malik are running for president! FINISHED!
1. Decision

Dreams of power  
  
Chapter 1:  
  
It was another boring winter day in early January. Marik and Malik were lying on the couch flipping channels and yawning. They hadn't done anything interesting in about a week. Earlier that day Yugi had taken his millennium puzzle back from the two and now they were rather discouraged.  
  
"Marik..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I don't know if were ever going to rule the world... Not if we keep failing to steal Yugi's puzzle."  
  
"I know... how long have we been trying to succeed in world domination?"  
  
"I don't know... about a year and some months."  
  
"Well, I think we need a new approach."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"...I'll let you know as soon as I think of it." He changed the channel again.  
  
"Ooh!" Malik sat up, "Leave it here, this is my favorite commercial!"  
  
Marik put the remote down and they watched the Oscar Mayer Weiner advertisement.  
  
Oh, I wish I was an Oscar Mayer Weiner! That is what I truly wish to be! 'Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner... Everyone would be in love with... Everyone would be in love with... Everyone would be in love with me!  
  
"Yay!" Malik giggled, "I love that commercial! It fills me will such joy."  
  
"You have problems."  
  
"No, I don't!"  
  
"What self respecting evil person would enjoy listening to little kids sing about wieners?!"  
  
"Ha! You criticize me?! Who's the person that likes to watch that fat guy ride the mechanical horse out front of the grocery store, hmm?"  
  
"It's funny when he falls off."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Marik picked up the remote again and started going through the channels extremely fast.  
  
"You can't even see which channels are going by."  
  
"Yes, I can." Marik stopped, "See? The news."  
  
"Since when do you watch anything but SpongeBob?"  
  
"Since I wanted to. Now pipe down, I want to hear."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
They were watching something about the presidential election, and Malik was getting annoyed. "That's not fair!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"George Bush and John Kerry get all that attention, and get a chance to possibly run the country for another four years!"  
  
"So, what's your point?"  
  
"What did they do to disserve that?! I mean, were the ones that have to work almost everyday just to get a millennium puzzle."  
  
"..."  
  
"And what do they do? They talk about stupid stuff on T.V and have people vote them into office. It just ain't fair."  
  
"I see your point."  
  
"Well, you know what? I think they both should lose."  
  
"Then who would win?"  
  
"How should I know? It could be our neighbor for all I care... just as long as it isn't them. Bush has been here long enough..."  
  
"And John Kerry's face looks like a foot."  
  
"My point exactly. Just once... I wish someone good looking would get into office."  
  
"Everyone there looks like a tractor ran over their heads."  
  
"..."  
  
"I mean, really. They don't even do a good job."  
  
"..."  
  
"And it would be so easy for someone to get up there and take control."  
  
"..."  
  
"Americans are easy to get on your side."  
  
"..."  
  
"Why, the next president might as well be-"  
  
"Us!" Marik stood up.  
  
"What?" Malik turned around and looked at him.  
  
"You're a genius, Malik!"  
  
"I am? I mean, of course I am! Why am I a genius, again?"  
  
"We should run for president!"  
  
"Excuse me?!"  
  
"It would be so much easier to do this instead of fighting Yami and Yugi."  
  
"But Marik!"  
  
"No buts!"  
  
"We don't know the first thing about running for president!"  
  
"That's what they have libraries for."  
  
"How are we going to get people to vote for us?"  
  
Marik held out his millennium rod, "That's what these are for."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"So, are ya with me?"  
  
"Do I have a choice?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Okay then, let's do it."  
  
"Great! You'll see, this'll be so much easier than going after the millennium puzzle."  
  
"Why is it that I don't think so?"  
  
"Because you're negative, Malik. That's why you'll be vice president."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"I thought of it."  
  
"..." Malik sighed.  
  
"Come on, let's go to the library."  
  
"We got kicked out last time."  
  
"Then, we'll be quieter this time. Okay?"  
  
"Okay..."  
  
"Good, off we go then." 


	2. Ballot Part 1

Dreams of power  
  
Chapter 2:  
  
It was about twenty minutes later when Marik and Malik were inside the Domino Library. They were towards the back, looking for any kind of book or pamphlet about the road to becoming president. Malik was on one side of the shelf while Marik was one the other.  
  
"I can't find anything, Marik. All these ones are about presidency in the 19th century."  
  
"I know, but keep looking."  
  
They searched a little more then Malik came across a small and oddly specific guide book, "Hey Marik, come here. I think I found what we need."  
  
Marik took the book, "How To Become President. Well, it sure sounds like what we need. It's probably as close as were gonna get... so let's check it out."  
  
They went to the counter and got the book stamped and everything, then left.  
  
"Why are we walking so fast?" Malik was struggling to keep up.  
  
"Because, a lot of the other candidates started their campaign last year and we really need to get started on everything. The voting is this November."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
When Marik and Malik got home they went upstairs to their bedroom to look at the book. Marik held it in his hands while Malik looked over his yami's shoulder. "Okay then, turn to page one."  
  
"No, that's table of contents..." Marik flipped a couple of pages, "We need page four."  
  
"..."  
  
"So, you want to be president? Well, that's all fine and dandy but there are a few rules you need to adhere to. The first thing you need to do is get your name on a ballot. How do you do that, you ask? Well, you need a whole lot of people to sign a petition saying that you should be nominated for president. People need to think you are a good leader and will do well with all that power in your hands. There is no real precise number... but at least over a million. "  
  
"But Marik, no one thinks were would be good with a lot of power!"  
  
"Sure they do."  
  
"Name one."  
  
"Uh... um... I... Well..."  
  
"See? You can't think of anyone and neither can I."  
  
Marik smiled, "What about Bakura?"  
  
"I don't know about him... he might vote for us."  
  
"There we go!"  
  
"That's one. We need a million. See?" He pointed to the page.  
  
Marik smiled, "Easy. We'll go door to door and tell people to sign."  
  
"Door to door! Marik, do you know how long that would take? A million doors! Think about this, Marik."  
  
"I've already thought about it."  
  
"And?"  
  
"And... follow me." Marik walked out the room and Malik followed. They went down the street and to the bus stop. They waited for a second or two then bus #23 came around the corner. They got and rode down town to the local television station.  
  
"Marik, what are we doing here?"  
  
"We are going to make a commercial, then broadcast it all over Domino. It'll tell everyone to come to our house and sign that petition thing."  
  
"How can we be sure that they'll actually do it?"  
  
"You're forgetting, Malik..." he pulled out his millennium rod. "We have persuasive powers."  
  
"Oh yeah."  
  
They walked inside and up to the front counter, "Hey."  
  
"Hello," a lady said. "How may I help you today?"  
  
"Well, we want to make a commercial."  
  
"We have a room especially for that, but do you know the cost for one?"  
  
"No."  
  
"For airtime it's about, $500."  
  
Malik looked at Marik, "What?! Marik, how are we gonna pay that much?"  
  
"Don't worry about it. Yeah, we have the money."  
  
"Okay then follow me." She got up and walked down the hall.  
  
Marik and Malik followed her to a room with a big white door, she led them inside and then shut the door.  
  
"What are we supposed to do now, Marik?"  
  
"I guess we're supposed to use this." He pointed to a camera in the corner. "I'll shoot it, and you have to be in it."  
  
"Um...okay."  
  
Malik got into the middle of the room while Marik set up the camera, "Get your millennium rod out, Malik."  
  
"What am I supposed to say?"  
  
"Just go with the flow. Nothing fancy, remember we're on a budget."  
  
"Alright."  
  
Marik was now set up, "And... ACTION!"  
  
"Hello people of Domino. This is Malik, I'm telling you to go to me and Marik's house and sign a ballot so we can become president." He held up his millennium rod, "Everyone."  
  
"And... CUT!" Marik got the tape out, "That was really good, Malik. You should go into acting."  
  
"Uh, no thanks. I'm camera shy."  
  
They went to the door and Marik slowly opened it to see if anyone was around.  
  
"Marik, I still don't know how we're going to pay for this."  
  
"We're not." Marik grabbed Malik's hand and led him out the door and down the hallway. He looked at each door.  
  
"What are you looking for?"  
  
"You'll see." Marik walked into a room with the tape and sat down in a chair. The room had lots of buttons and a computer and a T.V.  
  
"Cool! A T.V!"  
  
"That's not for watching shows. That's for running advertisements."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Marik popped the tape into the VCR and started typing something on the computer, "When would be a good time to show this?"  
  
"Um, as soon as possible."  
  
"Right." Marik typed something else in and jumped out of the chair. "Alright, let's go before someone sees."  
  
"Okay."  
  
They ran out the room and into the hallway. Eventually they made it out of the building and they were back on the bus. When they got home there was a ton of people at their door knocking to come inside.  
  
"Whoa, I didn't think it would work that fast!" Marik walked closer.  
  
"I didn't think it would work at all."  
  
They struggled to get in front of everyone but when they did, Marik went upstairs and got a lot of paper. "Here, Malik."  
  
"Why are you giving this to me?"  
  
"We have to get all these people to sign their names."  
  
"Do you think there enough people?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
They walked out side and held the paper up. Marik shouted over all the noise, "YOU ALL KNOW WHY YOU'RE HERE! JUST SIGN THE PAPER AND BE ON YOUR WAY!"  
  
Malik got out a pen and everyone got into a single file line. One by one they came and put their names on the sheets and left. It took about three hours, but at last the final person came and went.  
  
"Wow, Marik... That must have been everyone watching T.V in Domino."  
  
"Yup, let's go count the names and see if we have enough."  
  
So, they went upstairs and started to count. Marik counted one half of the papers and Malik counted the other. When they were done Marik had a count of 400,000. Malik had a count of 350,000. (If you're bad at math, together that's 750,000.)  
  
"We need more."  
  
Marik thought for a second, "I know!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"We could make up the rest of the names, and sign the petition ourselves."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"It'll be easy."  
  
"It will not be easy. We have to make up 250,000 names! First and last! Do you know how long that'll take?"  
  
"It won't take long at all. Look, I'll start." Marik grabbed the pen and wrote down the name 'Yugi Motou'. 


	3. Ballot Part 2

Dreams of power  
  
Chapter 3:  
  
At about three o' clock in the morning Marik and Malik were almost finished with the last of the fake names.  
  
"Uh... Marik... I'm tired. Can't 999,999 names be enough?"  
  
"I'm tired too. But the book said at least a million, so one more."  
  
"But we've put every name we know and every name we could make up..."  
  
"Hmm. How about SpongeBob Squarepants?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yeah, that's good enough." Marik wrote it down and collapsed right next to Malik. "I'm tired... Goodnight Malik."  
  
"Goodnight Marik..."  
  
At around ten o' clock that morning Malik woke up a little earlier than Marik. He got the book out of the drawer and looked up the next step.  
  
"Now that you have the names of everyone that would be potential voters for you, all you have to do is send it into the government office. But before you do that you have to pay the fees for the ballot. Nothing is free, for, as you'll soon learn the cost is only $50. But that is only the ballot registration fee; the real money will come when you start your campaign. You have to go to every state so you can tell the public what you're about. You know, so they'll vote for you. Plus there's the cost of posters, buttons, billboards, and traveling expenses. That's the reason why most people who run for president are filthy rich."  
  
Malik had to let that all run through his mind one more time before he actually got the jest of it, "Marik! Marik, wake up!"  
  
"..." He moved a little, "What is it?"  
  
"Marik, we need to be rich to run for president."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Look," Malik held the book up to Marik and he scanned it.  
  
"We have $50... I think."  
  
"I know that. But, what about all that other money we need?"  
  
"Hmm. Oh... that is a problem. Well, there's only one way we can get all that money."  
  
"And how is that?"  
  
"We need to get a sponsor."  
  
"Who in their right mind would sponsor us?"  
  
"I know only one person."  
  
"Oh no, Marik. We can't!"  
  
"Why not?" Marik got up and stretched. "Come on, we'd better get going."  
  
"We can't ask him, he's already spent so much money on us!"  
  
"That's why I'm convinced he'll spend more."  
  
"You're crazy if you go."  
  
Marik grabbed Malik by his shirt, "You mean, we're crazy if we go."  
  
Soon, they were out the door and on the bus heading for Kaiba Corp. Malik was still whining, "He's not going to give us any money."  
  
"Why are you so negative?"  
  
"I'll bet you anything that Kaiba's not going to give us a cent for our campaign."  
  
"Anything?"  
  
"Yes, anything."  
  
"Okay then, if Kaiba gives us the money... I want you to make me sandwiches for a year."  
  
"And if he doesn't?"  
  
"Then I make you sandwiches for a year. Sound fair?"  
  
"Sure," Malik shook his yami's hand, "Especially since I'm going to win."  
  
"We'll see."  
  
In about twenty minutes the bus arrived about a block away from Kaiba's building. Marik and Malik walked over and inside to the lobby. They got to Kaiba's floor and were about to enter the door to his office, but two very large guards were in the way.  
  
"Hello." Marik said, "We need to see Kaiba."  
  
"Do you have an appointment?"  
  
"Well, no. But give our names to him anyway. I'm sure he'll want to see us right away."  
  
"What are you names?"  
  
"Marik and Malik."  
  
"Wait right here," the guard went into the office and shortly came back out, "You may enter."  
  
"Thanks." Marik and Malik walked into the office and saw Kaiba sitting at the desk across the room.  
  
"What is it that you want, I'm very busy." Kaiba didn't look up from his laptop.  
  
"Oh, this won't take long." Marik stepped forward, "Let me get straight to the point. We need money."  
  
"What a surprise."  
  
"It's for a good cause."  
  
"I doubt that you two could come up with anything 'good' but let me hear it anyway."  
  
"We're running for president."  
  
Kaiba looked up, "What?!"  
  
"Yup, and we need you to sponsor our campaign."  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"You're the only filthy rich guy we know."  
  
"Gee, I feel special. Why don't you ask Bill Gates?"  
  
"We don't know him. Please, Kaiba! It'll be like an investment. And once we get elected... we'll do something really nice for you."  
  
"What could you possibly do for me?"  
  
"We will..." he thought for a minute. "Declare a new national holiday! St. Kaiba Day!"  
  
Kaiba started to laugh, "You... you'd really do that?"  
  
"Yeah, sure. But only if you help out with our campaign. We'll even let you pick out the date. How does that sound?"  
  
"It sounds ridiculous. But I'll do it anyway, because you seem desperate."  
  
Marik turned to Malik and grinned. "See?"  
  
"...I can't believe he said yes."  
  
"I think I'll have a sandwich when we get home, Malik."  
  
"..."  
  
Kaiba wrote something down in his checkbook, "Here." He handed it to Marik, "This should get you started."  
  
"Cool! A million dollars!"  
  
"Don't shout it out for the whole world to hear!" Kaiba went back to his laptop. "No, go somewhere."  
  
Marik and Malik went happily out the building, despite having to make his yami's sandwiches for the next year Malik was rather enjoying himself. When they got home Marik put the petition and the fifty dollars in a big envelope then mailed upstate to the official people.  
  
"Yay!" Malik cheered, "So, does that mean were in the race now?"  
  
"Yup, we need to start a campaign now. With the start up money Kaiba gave us we can get posters, banners, and buttons with our faces on it."  
  
"Cool." 


	4. Beginning a campaign

Dreams of power  
  
Chapter 4:  
  
Marik and Malik decided the best thing to do first would be to get the designs for the posters and buttons together. So, when they went all over the country they could have them distributed.  
  
"Okay Malik, what does yours look like?"  
  
Malik held it up. It was a picture of him and Marik smiling. "Do you like it?"  
  
"Well, yeah. But where are the words?"  
  
"What words?"  
  
"Well, all the other posters and banners have little sayings."  
  
"It isn't always good to follow the crowd."  
  
"I think we need a slogan."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like, um... Vote for me, I'm black and I'm proud!"  
  
"We're Egyptian. Not black."  
  
"How about... Vote for me and I'll set ya free."  
  
"Free? Free from what? I thought we wanted to enslave the world. Not set them free."  
  
"Oh yeah."  
  
"Well then, what should we use?"  
  
"Something that rhymes with Marik and Malik..."  
  
They thought for a minute, and that minute turned into half an hour.  
  
"OH! How about..." Marik bit his lip. "Go far with Ishtar."  
  
"Hey, that's really good! We should use that one."  
  
"Okay." Marik wrote it down so he wouldn't forget.  
  
"Okay, so what's next?"  
  
"We need a design for the little buttons with us on 'em."  
  
Malik scribbled something down then held it up, "What do you think?"  
  
"I think... you need art lessons."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"But the idea's really good. We'll use this one."  
  
DING-DONG! Malik got up and opened the door, "Oh, hi Bakura."  
  
"Hey, you two need to turn on the T.V now."  
  
They went into the living room and turned the television on. Marik flipped to the news and saw his and Malik's picture behind the news anchorman. "In other news a new candidate has entered the presidential race. His name is Marik Ishtar. Running mate is Malik Ishtar."  
  
Bakura sat back on the couch, "They've been talking about you two all day."  
  
"They have?" Marik turned the volume up.  
  
"Funny thing about these two, they not really famous but are entering anyway. Never seen anything like this before."  
  
"Yes, Jack. But for one, I'm glad they entered the race."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"Finally someone exotic in office. I mean, just look at that tan! He's absolutely delicious."  
  
"Um... okay. Back to you, Tom."  
  
Marik smiled, "Yup, I am delicious."  
  
"She was talking about the both of us, dummy."  
  
Bakura giggled, "I didn't know you two were running for president."  
  
"Yup, Kaiba's sponsoring us."  
  
"Well," he got up, "Ryou and I will vote for you. You'll need all the votes you can get."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"Nothing." He went out the front door.  
  
"Well, that was interesting." He turned to Malik, "Come on. We need to get one more thing."  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"Something we can tell the people that we'll do for them to make everything better."  
  
"What will that be?"  
  
"Do I have to think of everything!?"  
  
"...You're president."  
  
"Ugh! Okay, well... What would you like if a president promised you something?"  
  
"I'd like free sandwiches."  
  
"Not everyone likes sandwiches, Malik." He grinned, "Speaking of which. I'd like a sandwich now."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Yup, you lost the bet. That means you have to do it."  
  
"Oh, fine." He mumbled all the way to the kitchen and soon came back out with a BLT. "Here."  
  
"Thank you! I think better on a full stomach." He took a bite then thought for a minute, "I know!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"We should promise that if we're elected... instead of having trial by jury in the courtrooms, we'll have hangings with no trial."  
  
"..." Malik looked at him, "ARE YOU NUTS?! THEY'LL SEND US TO THE LOONEY FARM IF WE SAY THAT!"  
  
"Well, there's no need to shout." He took another bite of the sandwich, "How about... no fat people out after dark."  
  
"That's a keeper." Malik wrote it down, "Think of another one."  
  
"If you're ugly and you want to go outside, you have to wear a bag over your head."  
  
"You're on a role!" he wrote that one down as well. "Keep going."  
  
"No more Arbor Day. Trees are a waste of time."  
  
"You're great at this president stuff, Marik!"  
  
"Yeah, we're sure to get elected with these promises."  
  
Malik went upstairs then came back down with their guidebook. "Okay, we need to check this." He sat down and opened it to the present page.  
  
"Okay, now that you've gotten everything ready you can go out on the road and impress people with your leadership and charisma. But first you have to make sure you qualify for the three most important rules. Number one, you have to be over thirty-five. Number two, you must have been born in America. And three, you need some sort of degree...like a lawyer or anything else that required college. After that you ready to go out and show what you're made of."  
  
"Marik, those are three big problems."  
  
"Not exactly."  
  
"What do you mean, not exactly? Were seventeen, we were born in Egypt, and we've never even been to school!"  
  
"We can change our birth certificates. And we can get a degree without stepping foot in a classroom."  
  
"How is that?"  
  
"To the internet!"  
  
They went upstairs and logged on their computer. Marik typed the address for and a black screen appeared. "You'll love this website Malik, it's cool."  
  
"This site has gotten us into trouble before!"  
  
"What trouble?"  
  
"The doll potion, the Opposite Sex Machine, the aphrodisiac spell... Need I go on?!"  
  
"Aw, that wasn't trouble... just unfortunate accidents."  
  
"Ugh."  
  
"Look," he pointed to the screen. "This is what we need. For twenty dollars, this opens the file for our birth certificates and we can change anything we want. And for an extra ten dollars we can change our non- existent school records to really cool jobs. Cool, huh?"  
  
"They sure are cheap."  
  
"I know, so what do you want to be? I'm going to be a judge."  
  
"I judge?! Well... I guess I'll be a lawyer."  
  
"Okay, then." He started typing and soon his was done. "There we go!"  
  
"Neat."  
  
"Well," he got up, "Let's go."  
  
"Go? Go where?"  
  
"We're in a election Malik. We have to go on the road!"  
  
"Oh joy..." 


	5. An interview

Dreams of power  
  
Chapter 5:  
  
Just as Marik and Malik were exiting the front door they saw two spiky haired boys come up to them... Yami and Yugi.  
  
"Uh, hey you guys." Malik said locking the door, "What's up?"  
  
"You know what's up!" Yami stepped forward. "You two are running for president!"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"What made you think to do that?!" Yugi asked.  
  
"Well, we want to rule the world. But we realized we needed to start small."  
  
"So, you're going to rule America first?"  
  
"That's the plan." Marik and Malik went down to the bus stop but Yami and Yugi followed.  
  
"How are you going to pay for this?"  
  
"Kaiba's sponsoring us."  
  
"He... he is?"  
  
"Sure is." The bus stopped in front of them, "Now, if you'll excuse us. We have an election to win." They got on the bus and it started to pull away.  
  
Yugi yelled after the bus, "YOU'LL NEVER GET AWAY WITH IT!"  
  
Malik and Marik had already taken their seats. "Marik, where are we going?"  
  
"To the airport."  
  
"Oh. Well, where's the first place were campaigning?"  
  
"Kaiba has made an appointment for us in New York. We supposed to be there and do an interview."  
  
"Really? Kaiba did that?"  
  
"Yeah, he said he'd be our campaign manager since we knew nothing about it. His words, not mine."  
  
"Well, I'm glad he's helping us."  
  
"Yeah, this'll make it easier for us to borrow money from him."  
  
When they made it to the airport Marik and Malik got on the plane without much hassle, although there were a few people who recognized them. Anyway, once the plane took off it was about four hours till they landed in New York. There was a limo waiting for them outside the airport, Kaiba had sent it for them so they'd arrive at the station on time.  
  
"Wow, Malik. I can't believe were really here."  
  
"Yeah, it's exciting but scary all at the same time."  
  
"Nothing to be scared of. We have a lot to do though..."  
  
Malik nodded, "Do you think we'll get to meet George Bush and John Kerry?"  
  
"Well, yeah. But the people you need to get acquainted with are Dick Chaney and John Edwards."  
  
"Yeah." In about thirty minutes they arrived at the station, a bunch of people were out in front with cameras and microphones waiting for them. When they got out of the limo everyone was asking questions and stuff. But eventually they made it inside and to the backroom.  
  
They were sitting down waiting to be called into the room with the interviewers.  
  
"Marik, is this a T.V interview?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"Oh man, I didn't know that. Marik, I don't think I can do this."  
  
"Sure you can, it'll be easy."  
  
"That's what you always say."  
  
"That's because it's always true."  
  
In a second Kaiba came through the door, "Come on you two, there ready."  
  
"Kaiba?" Marik stood up, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I'm here to make sure you two don't screw this up."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Okay let's go." Kaiba led them into the same room they see on Fox News where those people talk about the world.  
  
Marik sat in one seat and Malik sat next to him, "I'm nervous."  
  
"Come on, Malik. If you're going to be vice president then you can't be this camera shy."  
  
"I know..."  
  
Soon two people sat down and introduced themselves. "Hello, I'm Jack."  
  
"Hello, I'm Lizzie."  
  
Marik and Malik waved. In a second the guy behind a camera said, "And we're live in...3...2...1."  
  
Jack and Lizzie got really big fake smiles on their faces, "Hi and welcome to Fox and Friends. I'm Lizzie."  
  
"And I'm Jack, today we have two very special guests. New comers to the presidential election, Marik and Malik Ishtar. Tell us, why did you two start to run for president?"  
  
Marik started, "We want to rule-"  
  
Malik put his hand over his yami's mouth, "No! I mean, we want to make America a better place."  
  
"Well, then." Lizzie said, "Why don't you tell us some of the problems America has."  
  
"Um... there's so many silly things going on that could easily be solved if someone would use common sense." Marik said.  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like..." he looked at Malik.  
  
"Like world hunger. If all the fat people went on a diet then there would be more food for the really skinny people."  
  
"..."  
  
"..." Jack and Lizzie looked at him.  
  
Kaiba was watching from the green room, "That idiot!"  
  
Jack cleared his voice, "Moving on."  
  
"Yes, um..." Lizzie thought for a second, "Well, what are your thoughts about the war going on over in Iraq?"  
  
This time Marik answered, "We should just blow them up."  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
Malik looked at Marik, "What he means is... that it's not that big a deal. People are running around saying they should do something about it. But no one ever does. This is just a simple solution."  
  
"I suppose..." Lizzie sighed. "Well, what do you plan to do about over population? There are too many people... eventually we won't have enough food and shelter for everyone."  
  
"Ooh, this'll be easy." Marik grinned. "Just stop people from having sex."  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
"Yeah," Malik added. "If people stopped that then we wouldn't have that problem, now would we?"  
  
"Well, no. But how do you expect to stop people from making love in the privacy of their own home?"  
  
"Duh! All we do is stick a device in everyone's house that can tell if they're doing it or not. And if they are... it's off to jail!"  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
Marik and Malik started to laugh. "This is way too easy."  
  
Lizzie shifted in her seat, "You guys are so lucky that you're cute."  
  
They smiled, "We know."  
  
Jack sighed, "So, what's the story about you both having the same last name? You look like twins almost."  
  
"Well," Marik started, "That's a long story."  
  
"Yeah, confusing too. But I guess you could say we're brothers."  
  
"Okay, then. That's all the time we have now, but stay tuned for the weather." Jack got up as soon as they turned the camera off, "It was nice meeting you two."  
  
"Same here," Lizzie left, "Hope you win."  
  
Marik and Malik went back in the green room with Kaiba, "How'd we do?"  
  
"Uh... let's just say no one could forget you two."  
  
Marik turned to Malik, "That's good, right?"  
  
"I suppose."  
  
"Come on," Kaiba said. "You two have another appointment."  
  
"Where is this?"  
  
"It's one of those public appearances. At a homeless shelter." 


	6. A homeless shelter and a makeover

Dreams of power  
  
Chapter 6:  
  
Marik, Malik, and Kaiba were on their way to the homeless shelter. They were riding in the limo and were almost there.  
  
"What's the name of this place again, Kaiba?" Marik asked.  
  
"I told you, Angel of hope homeless shelter."  
  
"What a silly name."  
  
"I know, but act like you love it. And pretend you care. People eat that stuff up."  
  
"Okay, I'll try."  
  
Once they got there, there were a bunch of news reporters and cameras and stuff. Just like at the T.V station earlier. When Marik and Malik got up to the podium they stood by this man in a priest's outfit.  
  
"Hello," he shook Marik's hand, "I'm father O'Hara. I'm in charge of the Angel of hope homeless shelter."  
  
"Uh hi. I'm Marik."  
  
"And I'm Malik."  
  
"Okay then let's get this show on the road." He turned to the crowd in front of the podium, "Ladies and gentlemen of the Angel of hope homeless shelter... This is Marik and Malik Ishtar. They are running in the current presidential election. I'm sure you all saw them on the news this morning."  
  
"They have T.V in a hobo house?" Marik asked.  
  
Kaiba elbowed him, "Don't call it a 'hobo house'! And yes, they have a T.V."  
  
"Well then," Father O'Hara continued, "I'll let Mr. Ishtar speak for a few moments. He wants to tell you all the improvements that will be made, if they are elected into office." He stepped down and motioned for them to take the stand.  
  
"What!?" Marik looked at Kaiba, "I don't have anything prepared!"  
  
"Then wing it!" Kaiba pushed him up.  
  
"Good-luck, Marik!" Malik waved.  
  
Marik got onto the podium and looked unbelievably nervous, "Uh... hello." He looked back at Kaiba. "Um... I'm Marik Ishtar. And... Malik and me are running for office. I just want you to know that if I'm elected president... a lot of things are going to change. Uh, for the better. Like, for one... no more homeless shelters! Yeah, um... instead of living in a dingy old place with no plumbing... you can live in nice boxes! With plumbing! Places like this just take up space."  
  
"Oh lord!" Kaiba smacked his forehead.  
  
"And you'll have better schools to go to. Oh, and you'll be able to take a bath once in a while. Hey, Father O'Hara?"  
  
"Uh... yes?"  
  
"How often do these people bathe?"  
  
"Once a week."  
  
"Yuck! I thought I smelled something... Anyway, you'll be able to take lots of baths and stuff. So, let's see..." he thought for a second, "Um, that's about it. Don't sweat it, you'll all be a-okay with me and Malik in office!"  
  
Most of them clapped as Marik got off the podium and entered the building with Malik, Kaiba, and father O'Hara.  
  
"Jeez, Marik." Kaiba said. "That was some speech."  
  
Malik sighed. "It brought a tear to my eye."  
  
Marik grinned. When they entered the room, Marik and Malik saw a bunch of little kids sitting on the floor, "Hello, Marik and Malik!" they all shouted at one time.  
  
"Hi." Marik and Malik replied with much enthusiasm.  
  
They spent about thirty minutes with the kids and took a lot of pictures with them for the newspaper. When it was time for them to leave they got up and went back into the limo. Malik was very glad to get out of there, "I swear, Kaiba, one of those kids was coming on to me!"  
  
"You have an over active imagination."  
  
"I do not! Do I, Marik?"  
  
"Well," he leaned back, "You do imagine a lot of things..."  
  
"I do not!"  
  
"Oh, and I suppose you really did see Elvis at McDonalds last year?"  
  
"Yes! I did, and he even said hi!"  
  
"You have problems."  
  
"You have problems!"  
  
"YOU BOTH HAVE PROBLEMS! Now..." Kaiba cleared his throat, "Be silent, will ya? I'm trying to think."  
  
Kaiba leaned back into his seat, 'How am I going to get these two to stop acting up on interviews and stuff? If they keep on doing this... they'll loose for sure! And there goes all my money...'  
  
Just then the driver stopped the limo, "Were here, sir."  
  
"Good." Kaiba got out, "What are you two waiting for? Let's go."  
  
Marik got out first, "Were back at the airport. Where are we going now?"  
  
"To Los Angeles. We have something to do there."  
  
"Um... okay." Malik and Marik followed him to Kaiba Corps private jet. They got inside and shortly took off.  
  
"Kaiba?" Malik leaned forward. "What is it that we need to do in Los Angeles?"  
  
"You'll see. Besides the fact that we haven't been there yet... we need to get a commercial going."  
  
"Commercial?"  
  
"Yes, Bush and Kerry already have one. We need to get a move on before one of your competitors gets one out about you and let's face it... your record isn't exactly stain free."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Marik asked.  
  
"They've got a lot of ammo the could use to hurt your chances of getting elected."  
  
"Oh..." they were quite until they landed in L.A. When the plane landed they got off and already had another limo waiting for them at the airport.  
  
"First, off..." Kaiba said. "We're going to get you two looking presidential. I can't believe I let you go on T.V in those clothes."  
  
"What? President's don't wear leather?"  
  
"No. They wear suits."  
  
"Oh."  
  
They got to on of those high-class dress and makeover stores called 'In Style.' Marik and Malik went inside first and were greeted by an extremely skinny woman.  
  
"Hello." She took a closer look at them, "Ooh! Wait a minute! You're Marik and Malik Ishtar, aren't you? The two cuties that are running for president!"  
  
Marik turned to Malik, "Hey she recognized us."  
  
Kaiba then walked in, "Alright," he was talking to the lady, "We need to get these two looking professional, and make it snappy."  
  
"Yes sir, Mr. Kaiba. Girls!"  
  
As soon as she said 'girls' there were six women that came out of the doors, three led Marik in one room and another three led Malik to a different room. The room that Malik was taken to was pink and had flowers on the wall. On the left side of the room were four big racks of business suits and ties and things like that.  
  
"Where am I?" he asked walking over to the clothes.  
  
One of the girls followed him over, "You're in one of the fashion rooms for men. We need to get you looking vice-presidential. Although, in my opinion you look fine just the way you are..."  
  
"Uh, thanks."  
  
"Now," she pulled out a tape measurer from her pocket, "Let's get started."  
  
"O...Okay."  
  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
"Aw, I hate suits..." Marik moaned as he tried another one on.  
  
"You kidding me? You look like a real president!"  
  
"Real presidents are ugly."  
  
"I mean you look very professional."  
  
"I don't like it."  
  
"Try this one." She got another one from the rack and held it up to him. "Hmm. No, I think you look best in black."  
  
"That usually what I wear."  
  
"Ooh! How about this one?"  
  
"Eh..."  
  
"Oh! Don't you like anything?!"  
  
"Show me something good, and I tell ya."  
  
In about thirty more minutes Marik found something half way decent and Malik came out in something he wanted as well. The next step was the cosmetics room, but all the girls refused to do anything to their faces.  
  
"Tampering with their natural beauty?! That should be considered a crime!" One of the girls turned her back to Kaiba.  
  
Marik and Malik smiled, "Yeah, Kaiba. You wouldn't want do anything to our natural good looks."  
  
"Just do something about Marik's wild hair." He walked out.  
  
"Well," one of the girls took the scissors, "It is my job..."  
  
Marik stood up, "What?! What are you doing?!"  
  
"I've got to trim your hair."  
  
"Not my precious golden locks! No way!"  
  
"Maybe I could do something that'll be just as good as cutting but not exactly..."  
  
"What do you mean by that?"  
  
"You'll see."  
  
In about fifteen minutes the girl was done and she turned Marik's chair around to face the mirror.  
  
"I... I look just like Malik."  
  
"Cool, huh?" She stood back, "Mr. Kaiba! There ready."  
  
Kaiba walked in and looked at Marik, "You two look like twins. And with the same name, everyone will think you are twins."  
  
"What's wrong with that?" Malik asked.  
  
"I guess nothing."  
  
"Good, then let's go." Malik started for the door.  
  
Marik followed him, "I've lost my individuality." 


	7. Commercial Part 1

Dreams of power  
  
Chapter 7:  
  
Before they knew it, they were back in the limo and heading for the Los Angeles T.V station. At least this time they wouldn't have to sneak around to get a commercial on the air.  
  
"Malik, how do I look?" Marik was still mopping.  
  
"You just like me... So in my opinion, you look great!"  
  
"... I miss my hair."  
  
"Oh, get over it! It'll grow back." Kaiba was getting annoyed. "Alright were almost there. Try and act professional."  
  
When the limo stopped they got out and went into the big building. It looked almost identical to the one in Domino. Kaiba talked to the lady and gave her lots of money. In a minute they (Marik, Kaiba, and Malik.) were led to one of the rooms with a table of five people.  
  
"Hello, Mr. Kaiba. Oh, and hello Mr. Ishtar. Both of you." One of the men said. "Were here to help you out with your campaign commercial."  
  
"You are?" Malik asked.  
  
"Yup, all you have to do if give us the stuff you want to show. And we'll work it into you're commercial."  
  
Marik thought for a second, "What do you want in our advertisement, Malik?"  
  
"Hippos!"  
  
"No. Something that'll make the public vote for us and not John Kerry."  
  
"Or Bush."  
  
"Right. So, we need something that'll discredit them. Before they do it to us. Like Kaiba said before, our record isn't exactly stain free."  
  
"Okay, but where do we get something like that?"  
  
"Hmm... I got it!" he turned to Malik, "Come on! I know what we have to do!" he started out the door, "Kaiba, stay here. We'll be back."  
  
Malik followed his yami till they were out on the street. "Where are we going?"  
  
"Do you still have your little video camera?"  
  
"Yeah." He pulled out a camera that was the size his hand, "What for?"  
  
Marik took it, "We are going to get some footage of George Bush. He's in Los Angeles today for a press conference, and he's staying in the Hilton Hotel."  
  
"What?! How'd you know that?"  
  
"I saw the newspaper before we went into the building."  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"Come on Malik." He stood by the bus stop. In a second the bus came and they got on. It was about an hour's ride till they got to the Hilton Hotel. Once they got there, they went to the front of the building and looked at it.  
  
"This place is huge." Malik took a step forward.  
  
"Yup, and this is where Bush is. So, in we go." He started to walk towards the door.  
  
"Wait a minute!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why are we here?"  
  
"I thought I told you. We have to get some proof that George Bush isn't the best guy for president."  
  
"How are we gonna do that?"  
  
Marik slapped his forehead, "We're going to use that video camera."  
  
"But Marik!"  
  
"No buts! Let's go." He walked into the building and Malik followed him. When they got inside Marik made Malik wait in the lobby and he went up to the front counter.  
  
"Uh, hi."  
  
"Hello sir. How can I help you?"  
  
"I'd like a room, please."  
  
"Okay, for how many people?"  
  
"Just two."  
  
"Who should receive the bill?"  
  
"Seto Kaiba."  
  
She held out a room key, "Okay, sir. Room number 216. Thank you for choosing the Hilton Hotel."  
  
"Yeah, sure." He took the key and motioned for Malik to follow him to the elevator. They got to the second floor and went into their room.  
  
"Marik, how'd you pay for this?"  
  
"I didn't. Kaiba did."  
  
"Oh. So how are we supposed to find Bush's room?"  
  
"Already taken care of. See, while the lady at the front desk was finding my key, I took a quick peek behind the desk and saw a key that said Bush."  
  
"Cool, what number is it?"  
  
"Number 365."  
  
"Okay. Wait a minute, how are we going to get inside?"  
  
"I have no idea." Marik opened the door and went out into the hallway, "But let's go anyway. Maybe something'll hit me on the way."  
  
Malik followed his yami up to the third floor and then to room 365. Marik looked into the peephole on the door and saw nothing inside. "I don't think he's in there."  
  
"Maybe he went to the buffet down stairs."  
  
"Why would he do that when he could order room service?"  
  
"I'm just thinking out loud."  
  
Just then they heard something from down the hall. Marik grabbed Malik and they hid around the corner. When they looked out by the door they saw George Bush going into his room with someone else. Marik and Malik came out of hiding when they heard the door close.  
  
"Well, how are we gonna get in there now?" Malik asked.  
  
"Hmm..." Marik thought for a second, "I know!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Follow me." Marik started for the elevator again and Malik followed. They went up to the roof level and Marik went over to the side.  
  
"Marik! What are you doing?! You'll fall off, it's really windy up here!" Malik shouted.  
  
"Look, Malik. Come over here."  
  
"Uh..." Malik walked over. "What?"  
  
"Look down there. That's our way to videotape Bush."  
  
Malik looked down, "All I see is the street."  
  
"No, we can do down to his window a videotape him."  
  
"Marik that's nuts! And do we even know what he's doing? He could be just sitting down reading a book, not doing anything worth videotaping."  
  
"Why do you always have to be so negative?"  
  
"Someone has to. Anyway, how do you expect to get to his window?"  
  
Marik looked around, then went over to the middle of the roof and picked something up, "With this."  
  
"WHAT?! Marik, that's an old rope! It even couldn't hold you!"  
  
"You're right, it couldn't. That's why you're going down."  
  
"Excuse me? No way!"  
  
"Aw, stop being such a baby. Let's go, we don't have much time." Marik grabbed his hikari and strapped the rope around his waist. "Okay get your camera out."  
  
"I'm not doing this, Marik!"  
  
"Sure ya are. Or I'll fill your life with misery and woe!"  
  
Malik made a face, "Fine... but I won't like it."  
  
Marik made sure the rope was tight and then he helped Malik over the side, "Okay all ya do is tell me when you're at his window, then I'll stop. Ready?"  
  
"What if he sees me?"  
  
"Then I'll pull you up as fast as I can." Marik started lowering Malik down. "Remember to tell me when to stop."  
  
"Okay... but I'm not there yet. Keep going."  
  
Marik wasn't having any trouble holding up Malik but he was kind of worried about the rope. In about two minutes Malik arrived at George Bush's window. "Okay, Marik! I'm here!"  
  
"Alright." Marik held him steady.  
  
Malik took out his camera and lifted it to the widow. All he saw though, was Bush lying down on the bed. In a minute he saw the bathroom door open up and some pale woman with short black hair walked out and sat next to him on the bed. Almost immediately they locked in a passionate kiss.  
  
"Hey Marik." Malik was still videotaping.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Who is George Bush married to?"  
  
"Um... Laura Bush. Remember? We saw her on T.V two days ago."  
  
"Oh, yeah." Malik used the zoom button on the camera to get a closer look of the woman's face, only to his surprise it wasn't even a woman... it was Michael Jackson. "Whoa! Hey, Marik! Guess who George Bush is kissing in the bed?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Michael Jackson!"  
  
Marik almost dropped the rope but at the last second caught it again, causing Malik's head to bump against the window. When George and Michael heard it, they looked up and saw Malik hanging from the rope.  
  
Michael screamed like a girl and hid under the bed.  
  
"Hey!" George picked up his pistol and aimed it at Malik.  
  
"MARIK! GET ME OUTTA HERE!"  
  
"Alright, alright!" he started to pull as fast as he could but the rope started to brake.  
  
"Pull faster!"  
  
"If I pull any faster, you'll fall!"  
  
Malik looked back down at the window opening and George Bush's pistol coming out. Luckily for Malik, Marik yanked the rope really hard making Malik go up and onto the roof. Only a millisecond passed before a bullet came flying after him. Once Malik caught his balance, Marik grabbed his hand and they ran like girls. 


	8. Commercial Part 2

Dreams of power  
  
Chapter 8:  
  
Once Marik and Malik got back to the T.V station they were tired, but at least they didn't come back empty handed.  
  
"Hey you guys." Malik sat down next to Kaiba, "What's up?"  
  
"Where have you been?!"  
  
Marik yawned, "We were out getting what we needed for the commercial. We got the sweetest footage you've ever seen of George Bush and his new sweetheart. Pop it in, Malik." He pointed to the VCR.  
  
Malik went over to the T.V and put the little videotape inside, "Here we go."  
  
The video started and everyone saw George Bush on the bed then the mysterious woman walk onto the scene in a red silk bathrobe. They started to kiss but then Malik used the zoom button and the woman's true identity was revealed as Michael Jackson.  
  
"Whoa!" Kaiba stopped the tape, "I've seen a lot in my day, but that... that just wasn't right."  
  
"You're telling me." One of the men at the table said, "But it's great stuff. We can definitely use that in your commercial. Congrats."  
  
"Yay!" Malik jumped up and down. "Uh... What's your name?"  
  
He sighed, "Just call me Sanders. Well, if you boys aren't to tired we can get started now, if you want."  
  
"Ooh! We want!" Marik got the tape from the VCR.  
  
"Okay, then. Follow me." He walked out the door and they (Marik, Malik, and Kaiba) followed.  
  
Sanders led them to another room down the hall. When they got inside it was a room with a bunch of T.V monitors and pretty buttons. Sanders sat down to one of the chairs and put the videotape in one of the VCRs. He rewound it to the beginning, and then turned around. "Okay, now. What I need you two to do is stand over there." He pointed to another part of the room.  
  
"What for?" Marik asked.  
  
"I need to put a little bit of you in this thing for people to know who they need to be voting for. When it comes to these kind of things America isn't always smart."  
  
"Tell me about it..." Marik and Malik went over in front of the camera and starred back at Sanders. "What now?"  
  
"Oh, yeah." He handed something to Kaiba, "Give these to Marik and Malik, will ya?"  
  
Kaiba came over and handed them the papers, "Here." He walked back next to Sanders.  
  
"Okay," he started, "Those will be your scripts. Just follow them exactly and you'll be fine. We'll do a run through off camera then do the real thing, so let's try and get it right the first time."  
  
Marik sighed, "Uh, okay."  
  
"Good. And... ACTION!"  
  
Marik looked at his script really quick, "Bush has been in office for the past four years."  
  
Then Marik, "And this is what's been going on behind America's back..."  
  
This was supposedly where the footage would go in the commercial. After a little pause Marik finished his lines.  
  
"Do you want that in the White House?"  
  
"Vote for us. Because we're not Michael Jackson fans."  
  
"And CUT! That was great boys. We'll do it for real this time, only have a little more enthusiasm. Okay?"  
  
"Well," Marik spoke up, "Do you mind if we make a few tweaks to the script? It seems a little flat."  
  
"Yeah, only a little." Malik promised.  
  
"Um. Okay, whatever."  
  
After they made a few 'tweaks' to their lines, they redid it and Sanders edited it all together. They took the tape into the other room and then got the exact time it would be on air. Sanders said it would be on the next day, at around noon. And then after that it would become a frequent advertisement just like any other. In a while Marik and Malik went back to the hotel and went to sleep.  
  
The next morning they woke up, bright eyed and bushy-tailed. Ready for anything and everything that the world of politics could dish out. Once they got out of bed and their uncomfortable business suits were on, they were out the door and on their way to the T.V station. Kaiba had told them to meet him there a little before the airing of the commercial.  
  
When they arrived, Marik and Malik went up to the same room where Kaiba and Sanders were waiting for them.  
  
"You're late." Kaiba was sitting next to Sanders.  
  
Marik sat down, "Well, sorry. Jeez, haven't you ever heard of traffic?"  
  
Malik sat next to him and looked up at the gigantic screen. "When is it coming on?"  
  
"In about a minute," Sanders turned up the volume. "Ooh, ooh! Here it is!"  
  
On the screen was George Bush sitting on the hotel bed. In less than a second a dark haired albino figure came on the scene, sat next to him, and they started to kiss. The zoom effect was then used and the pale figure was revealed once again as Michael Jackson.  
  
Then Marik and Malik came on screen, "This is what's been going on behind America's back."  
  
"Do you really want that in the White House?"  
  
"Vote for us. Because, a vote for Marik is a vote against Michael."  
  
The beginning scene ran again and then the commercial was off.  
  
"Wow, that was better than I thought it would be!" Malik jumped up. "Did you see how good we were Kaiba?"  
  
"I'm still stuck on that kissing scene."  
  
Marik sat up, "Do you think Bush saw it?"  
  
"Let's hope so." Sanders turned the volume down, "But you two have to tell me. Did you ever do anything that most people would disapprove of? Tell me now, so we can cover your tracks."  
  
"Uh," Marik looked at his hikari, "Well... What's your definition of disapprove?"  
  
"Oh, great! We'll be here all day!" Kaiba sat back down.  
  
Just then Marik and Marik appeared on T.V again. Everyone turned their attention to the screen, and Sanders turned the volume up.  
  
"Marik and Malik pretend to be innocent but this is what they do when they're not on T.V." It was John Kerry.  
  
The next pictures that appeared were like a slideshow of snapshots taken from when Marik and Malik went on their little adventures. There was one of Marik shooting Yami with an arrow, another of them stealing a plane, and one more of Malik getting chased down the street by a naked old lady.  
  
Then John Kerry and John Edwards took the screen again, "Would you want these two in office? Vote for John Kerry."  
  
It went off and Sanders shot a look at the two Egyptians, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"  
  
"Uh..." Malik looked at his yami.  
  
"You said you've never done anything that America would disapprove of!"  
  
"I didn't say anything like that!" Marik argued.  
  
"Ugh." Kaiba sighed, "It's okay... we can fix it. We just have to do better. And no more stupid escapades!"  
  
Marik and Malik looked disappointed, but nodded anyway. "Okay..."  
  
Later on that day, George Bush held a press conference about the commercial that Marik and Malik aired and if it was true.  
  
The room was packed full of reporters and photographers flashing cameras and getting there questions ready for when the president took the podium. Civilians were allowed in, but only in the back. Marik and Malik were there only out of curiosity.  
  
Soon, Mr. Bush walked in with two bodyguards on either side of him. He made his way to the stand and started to speak, anyone with eyes could see he was nervous.  
  
"Hello, fellow Americans." He paused, "I'm not going to beat around the bush. I know there have been some rumors about me lately. Commercials and video's have been shown and I have just one thing to say-"  
  
He was cut off by an impatient reporter, "Sir! Did you have an affair with Michael Jackson at the Hilton Hotel, yes or no?!"  
  
He sighed, "No."  
  
Michael stood up out of the audience, "You liar! How could you deny all those nights of passion!? What about that 'I love you' line you used last night, was that a lie as well?!"  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"George! If you choose your reputation over me... than I just don't know what to say to you!" with that, they left the now silent room.  
  
Laura (Bush's wife) was behind him astounded by what she'd just heard, "Oh my god..." she fainted and two men had two carry her away.  
  
Marik and Malik had been silent throughout the whole thing but they couldn't withhold their laughter anymore, "HAHAHAHAHA!"  
  
The room looked back at them then up to George Bush who was now escaping out the back door with a suitcase in hand and a sombrero on his head.  
  
In a while the security told everyone to leave the conference room, including Marik and Malik. They went back to the hotel with smiles on their faces, knowing that they had sent Bush to Mexico and saved the world from yet another republican. 


	9. Bill O'Reilly

Dreams of power  
  
Chapter 9:  
  
Over the next couple of days, Kaiba had been scheduling interviews and appointments for Marik and Malik. They had visited many cities and were doing pretty well in the polls. Bush had dropped out of the race and John Kerry was in the lead. But Marik wasn't far behind, reason being that all the girls thought he and Malik were so totally hot.  
  
Soon, Kaiba had arranged for Marik and Malik to appear on the Bill O'Reilly show, (A/N: Yes, that is a real show, it's on the Fox news network) which was a really big deal because not everyone gets on there. And unlike Jack and Lizzie, the two that interviewed them first, Bill is not an easy customer. He'll grill you to no end. Marik and Malik were told all of this but they still thought it would be just as easy as the first interview.  
  
When they arrived back in New York, they took the limo to the T.V station. It was nighttime then, and all of the studio's flashing neon lights were on. They could be seen from down the street, which got Marik all excited. I mean really, who doesn't like a good light show? They were inside and into the green room in a matter of minutes. They had a little less than a half an hour until it was time for them to go on, so Kaiba thought this would be a great time for a pep talk.  
  
"Alright you two. You had better not screw this up! This is one of the toughest people you've ever had to deal with."  
  
"Does that include you?" Marik grinned.  
  
Kaiba ignored him, "He won't go easy on you and you had better either know how to answer his questions or know how to dodge them."  
  
"..."  
  
"..."  
  
He noticed they weren't speaking, "I'm serious, if this doesn't go well it could ruin your chances of being elected."  
  
"Will everyone be watching?" Malik asked.  
  
"Yes, Malik. Almost all of America will be watching. And these viewers will be serious adults. Not those silly twenty year old girls that have fallen in love with your tan."  
  
They smiled, obviously proud of their Egyptian tan.  
  
"You have to be professional, smart, and above all..." he looked at them, "try not to screw it up!"  
  
"We'll do our best!" they replied in unison.  
  
Kaiba got down on his knees, 'Please, just let that be enough.'  
  
The stage manager walked back into the room, "Marik and Malik Ishtar, you're on in five."  
  
"Uh, okay." Marik and Malik followed him to the set. They sat down in the two seats they were shown. The seat behind the desk was meant for Bill O'Reilly.  
  
Two minutes passed before the slightly balding man himself showed up, Mr. Bill O'Reilly. "Alright, let's get this show on the road."  
  
"Uh... Hello." Malik was brave enough to say.  
  
O'Reilly looked at him, "You're the little one, right? Malik?"  
  
"Little?!"  
  
Marik snickered. "Yup, that's him. I'm Marik."  
  
"Hmm. Well, glad to meet you both."  
  
A man from behind a camera held up his hand, "And we're live in 3...2...1."  
  
"Hello and welcome to the Bill O'Reilly Factor, where everything is fair and balanced. As you know America is currently in the middle of a rat race we like to call a presidential election. A few days ago former president George Bush dropped out of the race and left the country. He is currently in Mexico City, under the name Juan Lopez. Anyway, tonight I have the two young men that managed to run him out of the country. Marik and Malik Ishtar. Welcome to the show, glad you could join us."  
  
"Thanks." They said in unison.  
  
"Now, you two look unbelievably young to be over 35. I almost couldn't believe it when I saw you."  
  
"Well," Malik smiled, "Botox and vegetables everyday take most of the credit."  
  
Marik rolled his eyes.  
  
"Okay. Well, I did watch your commercial about Bush. How did you happen to come across that footage?"  
  
"Uh..." Malik looked at Marik.  
  
"Well, we saw some strange activity in their room. You see, we were staying in the same hotel."  
  
"I see. And you coincidentally had your camera out."  
  
"We were videotaping something else at the time. An event that was happening at the hotel."  
  
"But the footage was taken from the window . The only way you could have done what you said is if the event was happening in midair by Mr. Bush's window, on the outside of the building. Isn't that correct?"  
  
"Yeah, actually. Malik was suspended from the roof of the building. See, the event was happening on the street and we wanted to get a birds eye view. That's when he noticed something in the room next to him and shifted the camera so he could see it in focus. Isn't that right, Malik?"  
  
"Uh... yeah."  
  
Bill raised an eyebrow, "Moving on, I did see your first interview with Jack and Lizzie. They addressed a very good question, and I'd like to follow up on that... You think that we can solve world hunger by making all the fat people go on a diet. Correct?"  
  
"Yup." Marik and Malik nodded.  
  
"What, exactly, is your definition for 'fat'?"  
  
"Uh...fat... meaning really big, and not skinny. Which is to say, not pretty-"  
  
"Wait a minute, Marik." Malik interrupted, "I've seen some fat people that are pretty."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"On T.V. And at the mall... remember that one lady with the blue wig?"  
  
"Malik, she wasn't fat. She was thick."  
  
"What's the difference?"  
  
"There's a thin line between fat and skinny. And somewhere on that thin line lays 'thick'. You see? Thick. Like a thick milkshake."  
  
"I still don't get it."  
  
"Look, it simply means-"  
  
"Gentlemen!" O'Reilly stopped them, "Can we get back on track, please?"  
  
Malik scratched his head. "Sure. Uh... where were we again?"  
  
"Okay, you think fat people should go on a diet. Well, what weight should be considered fat? Lot's of terribly skinny people think that they're fat. But that doesn't mean they are. Where do we draw the line?"  
  
"About 125 pounds for girls. For guys... um..." he looked at Marik, "What do you think?"  
  
"Well, let's use us as an example. I weigh about 136... muscle included."  
  
"I weigh 130. So somewhere in the middle... 133?"  
  
"That's good, Malik." He turned back to O'Reilly. "133 for guys. That should leave everyone fit as a fiddle."  
  
"Or at least a violin." Malik added.  
  
O'Reilly starred at them both, "You two are some piece of work, you know that?"  
  
"It's a gift."  
  
"I'm sure it is. Anyway, let's move on, shall we? Now, you do understand the responsibility that comes along with becoming president don't you Marik? There's handling the country night and day... and if something goes wrong you're the first one America will turn to."  
  
"Aw, nothings gonna happen with me in charge. And even if it did, I'd be prepared."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"I handle catastrophes everyday. I remember when we had to get from Hawaii to Mexico, so me and Malik took a plane-"  
  
Malik covered his yami's mouth and whispered, "May I remind you that this is exactly what he wants you to do! He wants you to break down and tell the truth. We can't do that!"  
  
"Oh, yeah." Marik sat back up and smiled.  
  
"Something wrong?" Bill knew exactly what was going on, "You both seem a little uptight."  
  
Marik and Malik shook their heads back and forth.  
  
"Well I wouldn't be surprised if you could handle being in charge of the country, Marik. After all, you are a judge."  
  
"I... I am? Oh yes! I am, yes, I am a judge." He remembered what he had done on when they first started.  
  
"Tell me, what's the weirdest case you've ever handled?"  
  
"Uh... Well, there was that one with the guy that chopped this other guy's arm off. Over a..."  
  
"Over a?"  
  
"S-Sandwich. He did it over a sandwich."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"It was a lot like the Donner Party. It was the last sandwich in the whole party, and it was supposed to be his. But another guy ate it when he went to the bathroom... so he chopped his arm off."  
  
"Sounds... strange."  
  
"It was."  
  
"How did you rule?"  
  
Marik didn't know what Bill meant by that. He looked at Malik for help.  
  
Malik thought back to an episode of the Golden Girls he'd seen about a month ago, "He ruled in favor of the Defendant."  
  
Bill looked at him, "You know this because?"  
  
"I'm a lawyer and I was representing him."  
  
Kaiba was watching from the green room, 'Malik you are a savior!'  
  
Marik looked at his hikari with a funny eye, "How'd you know that?" he whispered.  
  
"Golden Girls comes in handy sometimes."  
  
Bill sighed, "I'm just wondering over here, but where'd you two get the money for a campaign? No offense, but you don't seem...rich."  
  
"Oh, we're not rich." Malik said, "Our friend pays for everything."  
  
"That must be some friend, to cover for you on such an expensive venture. Tell me, why do you want to be president so badly Marik?"  
  
"I think America would be a better place with me in office."  
  
"I saw that commercial that John Kerry put out last week, about you two. Those were some pictures... Malik, did a naked old lady really chase you down the street?"  
  
"Uh... yes."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Long story..."  
  
"Commercial's aren't for another ten minutes, and I'm sure everyone would love to hear this."  
  
"Well," he looked at Marik, "See, this old lady Mrs. Peggy. She was really mean to us. And so we decided to playfully put a curse on her... But we didn't know it would cause her to go sex crazy and terrorize the city."  
  
Marik pumped his fist in the air, "It would have been so cool!!! If... she hadn't gone after us next. But we did find the reverse spell and changed her back to normal. Needless to say, she'll never speak to us again... but we all must make sacrifices."  
  
"..." Bill shortly came out of his daze, "Uh... Anyway. Marik, did you really shoot someone with an arrow?"  
  
"It was only Yami. And besides, it wasn't a real arrow... it was part of the Opposite Sex Machine, me and Malik ordered."  
  
Malik looked at him, "What do you mean we? I did no such thing, I told you not to order things from that website!"  
  
"Where else do ya get a Opposite Sex Machine? E-bay?!"  
  
"Well, you could have-"  
  
"Gentlemen!" Bill had to interrupt again, "Do you two always argue like this?"  
  
"Yeah, sort of. It gives us something to do when we're bored." Marik sighed.  
  
"But he always starts it."  
  
"Do not."  
  
"Do too."  
  
"Do not!"  
  
"Do too!!"  
  
Bill sighed, "Well, that's about all the time we have for tonight. Thank you Marik and Malik for joining us, and don't forget you can send me an email and get your Factor Gear at And remember, the spin stops here."  
  



	10. Revenge

Dreams of power  
  
Chapter 10:  
  
Soon the riveting news show was over, Marik and Malik went backstage to see what Kaiba thought. When they got there, Kaiba was sitting on a chair with a note in his hand.  
  
"Hey, Kaiba." Marik said, "What did ya think of that?"  
  
"We were good, weren't we?"  
  
He got up, "Let's just say... it was worth watching. And as for the voters..."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Just be thankful for that tan of yours."  
  
"Will do!" Malik and Marik headed for the door, "Coming?"  
  
"Not so fast, you got something. Here." He handed the note to Malik.  
  
"Hmm." He opened it and read it out loud, "Marik and Malik, if you're wondering how John Kerry got those pictures of your past escapades... it was us. We gave them to him, and it's not the only time we'll be helping your competition. You don't need to be in office! The world's bad enough with you in it, let alone running it. Non-love, Yami and Yugi."  
  
"Okay, now I'm mad." Marik grabbed Malik's hand and dragged him out the door.  
  
"Where are we going?!"  
  
"To get a hold of Yugi and the pharaoh."  
  
"They're in Domino! And we're in the middle of a campaign, we don't have time for them! Let it go! For once, just let it go!"  
  
"No way, I can't stand those two!" Marik threw his hikari in the back of the limo, "Okay, driver go to our hotel, now!"  
  
"Yes sir." He stepped on the gas and they were on their way.  
  
"Marik... I'm tired. We're going to the hotel, does that mean we're saving our revenge for tomorrow?"  
  
"No, Malik. Our revenge is tonight! I didn't tell you this but... Yugi and Yami have been following us all around the country."  
  
"What?! Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"I didn't want you getting freaked out."  
  
Malik pouted. "I don't freak out..."  
  
"Don't be mad, hikari. We're going to teach those spiky haired freaks not to mess with our campaign."  
  
"How do we do that?"  
  
"Nothing special Malik. We're just going over there to slap 'em around a bit."  
  
"SLAP THEM?!"  
  
"It's an expression. Simply put, we'll just tell show them they can't mess with us when we're doing something important."  
  
"But they can mess with us when we're just sitting around, bored."  
  
"Yes... I mean, no! Whose side are you on?!"  
  
"Yours! I mean, ours."  
  
"Good, we're almost there..."  
  
In a few moments they had arrived back at the hotel and were heading up to their level. They were at the door adjacent to their own when they heard oh too familiar voices coming from inside. Marik put his ear to the door and could hear his enemy's conversation perfectly.  
  
"Yami, they were really good on that O'Reilly show. Do you think more people will vote for them because of it?"  
  
"No. After all, they weren't 'good' they were entertaining. Which, when used in the world of politics, can have very different results."  
  
"...Do you think they got our note?"  
  
"I'm sure they did. They're very predictable."  
  
"They are? I mean, yes! They are... What do you predict?"  
  
"I predict they will be here in a matter of..." he dropped his voice to a whisper, "seconds."  
  
Just then Marik busted the door open with Malik's hand in his. "Alright Pharaoh, I know what you and your hikari did!"  
  
"..." Malik sighed.  
  
Yami smiled. "Well, it's about time you got here, Marik. I was beginning to worry about you."  
  
"Shove it! I knew you had something to do with this whole thing! You're the only reason Kerry has his slight lead!"  
  
"John Kerry would have had his lead anyway! The only reason you two are in second place is because you took that videotape of George Bush! Which, by the way, was not called for. You can't just sneak into people's lives like that!"  
  
"Yes, we can. And soon, we are going to be in office and there won't be a thing you can do about it Yami."  
  
Malik tugged on his yami's sleeve, "Can we just beat them up and go? I'm tired."  
  
"That's a good idea, Malik." Marik grinned, "I got dibs on the pharaoh."  
  
"I'll take Yugi." Malik yawned, "Come here, kid."  
  
Yugi started to back up and Yami got in front of him, "No way Malik."  
  
Malik groaned, "Aw, come on Yami. I'm tired, and I want to go to sleep... The only way Marik will let me is if we beat you up."  
  
Marik grabbed Yami from behind and wrestled him to the ground, "Give it up, Yami!"  
  
Yugi tried to pull Yami out of Marik's grip but Malik got to him first. With one arm wrapped around Yugi's waist and another reaching for the bed sheets, Malik finally managed to wrap Yugi up in it tightly. Afterwards, he was able to help his dark tie Yami up in a different sheet. Although they couldn't get their millennium puzzles, they did get Yugi and Yami in a position to where they couldn't use them.  
  
"Well," Marik rubbed his hands together, "That takes care of that."  
  
"Takes care of what, Marik?! They are bound and gagged in their hotel room. Someone is sure to find them here! And then they'll squeal on us."  
  
"So what's your point?"  
  
"If they tell, we'll be kicked out of the election and sent to jail for kidnapping!"  
  
"I see..." Marik thought for a minute, "Okay, I got it!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Follow me." Marik picked up Yami and dragged him out of the room. Malik did the same with Yugi. They went down the hall and into their own room.  
  
Marik and Malik threw the spiky headed boys onto the floor and sighed. "What do we do now Marik?"  
  
"..." Marik didn't answer. He was too busy pushing Yugi and Yami into the closet on the other side of the room. When he locked the door and set a chair up against it, he turned back to Malik, "See? All better."  
  
"Better? Better?! What's better!? Now, they're in our room. What happens when they get out of there, Marik? They could cut our throats in the middle of the night! Or worse... they could send us to the shadow realm!"  
  
Marik starred at him, "You need to relax."  
  
"I can't relax. I'm a nervous wreck over this, Marik!"  
  
"I can see that." Marik walked into the kitchen portion of the room. "Sit down. I'm going to show you a trick."  
  
"A trick?" Malik sat down anyways.  
  
"Yup." He poured a glass of milk behind Malik's back so he couldn't see anything. "I learned this from Bakura. When he wants his hikari to shut- up...I mean go to sleep."  
  
Malik sighed, "..."  
  
Marik gave Malik the glass of milk, "Now, drink it all...slowly. It's a sleep potion. Guaranteed to put you out like a light."  
  
Malik started to drink it, "It's tastes like milk..."  
  
"That's what it's supposed to taste like. Now, you'll feel a little tingling... but believe me. You'll sleep like a baby." Marik raised a frying pan behind his hikari's head.  
  
"I don't feel any tingling. When's it gonna hit me?"  
  
"Right now." Marik slammed the pan down on Malik's head. Not hard enough to kill him... just enough to knock him out for the night.  
  
"..." Malik really was out like a light.  
  
Marik dragged him up to the bed and put a blanket over him, "Well... it seems Bakura was right again." 


	11. Men in black

Dreams of power

Chapter 11:

Over the next couple of weeks, things were going pretty smoothly. Yugi and Yami were still trapped with Marik and Malik. And whenever they switched hotels, Yugi and Yami were transported to another closet. Still wrapped in crisp white sheets. Which, by the way, were no longer crisp or white.

It was now September. Marik just couldn't get in front of John Kerry in the polls. It seemed that there just wasn't enough girls in America to over rule the forty year olds that wanted Kerry in office. Marik was starting to get annoyed, he and Malik tried desperately to find out something about their competetion to give them an advantage. But John Kerry had nothing to hide, not a thing was wrong with him. (Besides his face.)

Soon, Kaiba had informed them that a special debate was coming up. It would be broadcasted worldwide. A debate with Marik and Malik against John and his running mate, whose name is also John.

"Darn it!" Marik slammed his fist on the table, "Is there nothing that is wrong with that guy?!"

Malik was sitting next to him, "Who? Kerry? I don't know."

"Well, how are we supposed to beat him?"

"Maybe WE should just do better."

"We can't. Let's see..." he thought for a second, "What haven't we done already to find out about Kerry?"

"We've done it all! What else is there?"

"He's in Washington D.C this weekend isn't he?"

"Uh...yeah. Until tomorrow morning. Why?"

"We can follow him around! Yeah, that's it! We're sure to catch him in the act this way."

"What act?! Maybe he doesn't do anything wrong. Maybe he's just a decent, honest, ugly man who wants to do some good in the world."

"You are such a negativity spreader."

"..."

"Come on, Malik. We've got some spying to do."

"Oh joy."

The next thing Malik knew, he and his yami were dressed in 'men in black' outfits...sunglasses and all.

Malik was yanking on his tie, "Marik, are these really necessary?"

"Of course. You want to blend in, don't you?"

"Well, yeah. But who wears these in the middle of the day?"

"Reporters. That's what we're going to be. So we can get close to John Kerry, see he is opening the new mall today and that's where were going."

"Oh, okay."

In a while they had their limo take them over to the soon to be open mall. When they arrived, they got out and wove their way through the huddled crowd, all the way to where John Kerry was.

Kerry was standing next to the doors of the mall with a pair of really big, golden scissors in hand. "...And so, without further ado... I am officially opening the Washington D.C Sunset mall." And with that he cut the red ribbon and the doors opened.

Everyone rushed inside ready for shopping, except Marik and Malik. Instead, they followed him to his limo and snuck into the trunk. The driver started the limo and they were on their way to who knows where.

"Marik! Why are we in the trunk?!"

"Shh! Be silent! We don't want him to hear us."

"Why can't we ride up front?"

"Ugh... because then he would see us. The point of this whole thing is to be sneaky about it."

"Well." Malik moved around, "Could you at least move your elbow?"

"Oh...sorry."

After twenty more minutes of speed bumps, misplaced elbows, and nausea they arrived at... wherever they were. The limo stopped and the driver walked to the back to get something out of the trunk. He wasn't expecting to see Marik and Malik scrunched up in the back.

"Hey! What are you two doing back here?"

"Uh..." Marik looked around, "We're just enjoying the scenery."

"I don't buy that for one second."

"Fine, then. We'll leave." Marik grabbed Malik's hand and exited the vehicle.

They looked around for a bit then caught sight of John Kerry once again; he was walking down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. It looked like he was a normal person, except for the fact that he had on a business suit and a button that said 'Whitehouse or bust'.

"Come on!" Marik grabbed his hikari's hand and hid behind a bush. He took out a pair of binoculars, and a camera.

Kerry had stopped at the cross walk and turned to face an elderly man. Marik or Malik couldn't quite hear what he was saying, but just then Kerry grabbed the man from behind the neck and roughly swung him around.

"I can't believe it!" Marik gasped, "He's robbing that old man!" He snapped a picture.

Kerry soon let him go, the senior citizen turned around and spat out his dentures. "Oh... thank you, young man. I was chokin' on my teeth."

"No problem, sir." And with that he walked away.

Malik gave Marik smirk, "Oh yeah, Marik... he should be locked up for that."

"Don't worry. We'll catch him."

Marik and Malik followed John yet again to wherever he was off to. About a moment later Kerry went into a park, and the two Egyptian spies followed.

John was going past a bench when out of the corner of his eye he spotted a little girl. He walked over to her and took her hand, heading back towards the entrance gate to the park.

"Oh my Ra." Marik said, "He's a child abductor!" he flashed yet another picture.

Malik looked at him, "This may not be what you think."

"Of course it is! Watch..."

Just then a woman came up to John Kerry and the little girl, "Oh, Cindy!" she ran up to the girl and threw her arms around her daughter's small waist.

"Mommy!"

The lady looked up, "Thank you, sir. For finding Cindy for me."

"All in a day's work." He smiled then was on his way.

Malik looked at his guilt stricken yami, "Child abductor, eh?"

"So what? I bet if that lady hadn't shown up, he would have taken her."

"Whatever."

Marik ignored him and looked back up at John Kerry, now exiting the park, "Come on, Malik. He's on the move."

Malik followed Marik, who was currently following John. His footsteps led him and his stalkers to a dance studio. John walked inside without hesitation, but Marik and Malik were still standing outside the building.

"What are we waiting for, Malik?"

"Uh... nothing. I just don't know why he's in here."

"Well, we'll never know if we don't go in."

Marik nodded and they went inside the large building. Once they were in the lobby Malik sat on a chair to rest his feet. "Marik, I don't think he's in here."

"We saw him come in, he must be here." He leaned on a door and in opened, "Huh?"

"Ooh, look. Dancers." Malik stood up.

Marik and his hikari stuck their heads in the room, only to see about 20 dancers moving around and copying the moves of the man dressed in spandex at the front of the room. He was tall, with gray hair, and his face resembled a foot. It was then that Marik realized it was John Kerry up there, doing splits.

"Oh my Ra. Malik, do you know who that is?"

"Bob Hope?"

"No! It's John Kerry."

"No way, really?"

"Yeah, look at him. Hurry, take a picture."

Malik flashed the camera a couple times and then they left the studio. Once they were outside Marik whipped out his cell phone and dialed Kaiba's cell.

"This is Kaiba."

"Hey, Kaiba. Guess what?"

"What?"

"Me and Malik just scored some pictures of John Kerry. They'll be really sweet once we touch them up."

Malik tugged on his yami's sleeve, "What do mean touch up?"

"Shh!" he turned his attention back to Kaiba, "So, can you send a limo to pick us up?"

"Can do. It'll be there shortly."

"Thanks." He hung up. "Now, what was it you were saying Malik?"

"What do you mean by 'touch up', Marik?"

He grinned, "Oh, you'll see."


	12. Touch ups and a evil plot

Dreams of power

Chapter 12:

Kaiba's limo for Marik and Malik finally came. They got in and in about twenty minutes or so; they were at their hotel with Kaiba waiting outside their room.

"So, you said you had some pictures of Kerry?"

"Sure do. And with a little tampering, they're gonna rock so hard." Marik smiled.

Malik looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"Relax, hikari. You'll get it." He led they way into their room with Kaiba and Malik following. When they got inside Marik sat down at the computer and put the digital camera in the cartridge. Then turned the PC on.

Kaiba sat down in the chair next to him, "So, you two followed Kerry around for while, eh?"

"That's right." Marik started typing.

"This should be good."

"I still don't know what's going on!" Malik pouted.

"Don't worry," Marik tasseled his hikari's hair, "Just watch the master at work."

"Fine. But where's the master?"

"Right here!" Marik pressed enter. "Take a look, this is all the pictures we took while we were out. Cool, huh? These could save our butts."

"..." Malik looked closer.

Marik clicked on a picture and it lighted up, red. It then came into a bigger frame and then Marik leaned back in his chair to face Kaiba, "So, what do think?"

"Uh." Seto starred at it, "It's Kerry hugging an old man."

"Right now, it is." Marik smiled, "But it doesn't have to be. Observe." He dragged the mouse over to the panel and made a couple of distortions and adjustments to the picture.

"Ah..." he sighed, "What do you think?"

"It looks like Kerry is strangling him." Malik's eyes were wide with wonder, "How'd you do that, Marik?"

"It's simple, I saw this thing on last week about making custom photos. It was so awesome."

Kaiba grinned, "This is sure to help you in the polls. Maybe you actually have a chance of becoming president, Marik."

"Was there ever any doubt?"

"Oh yeah."

He frowned, but then turned back to the computer, "Okay. We still have to do the rest of these, so here we go."

In about thirty to forty-five minutes, Marik had customized all of the pictures and he was now extremely pleased with himself. By the time he was done, he had great pictures. One of Kerry strangling an old man, one of him forcing a little girl into his car, and another of him throwing things at blind children. Not to mention the one with him doing dances in spandex.

"Wow, Marik. Do you think we'll win with these pictures? What if he has his own pictures of us?"

"Nonsense, Malik. We've never done anything to take pictures of-"

"Ha!" Kaiba interjected, "You're a riot, Marik. You both have done more in two years than all the politicians in a lifetime."

"I think he has a point, Marik."

"No he doesn't. Well, okay maybe we have done some things that are... questionable. But! Nonetheless, we have covered our tracks very well. We are masters of disguise!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Are you two ready to see if this crazy plan will work?"

"Sure am!" they said in unison and followed Kaiba out the door with the printed pictures in hand.

They were in the limo and heading down to the T.V station where their partner, Sanders was currently working. Since there first commercial Sanders had become a regular guy in Marik and Malik's life. He made sure they didn't do anything the American people would disapprove of and made sure they acted in a respectable manner. Which is harder than it sounds for the both of them.

When they arrived, Kaiba waited in the car. And the two Egyptians ran up to meet Sanders on the top floor.

"Hey, guess what?!" Malik was waving the pictures around his head.

Sanders turned around, "What?"

"Look what we got." Malik shoved the pictures into his hands.

He looked at them for a minute, and then looked at Marik. "Where'd you get these?"

"Why does it matter where we got them? The point is that we got them. So, can we use these or what?"

"Well, yeah! But, there's only one problem."

"What's that?"

"John Edwards."

"Kerry's running mate? What about him?"

"Everyone will know these photo's are tampered with because Edwards isn't in here. Lately John Kerry hasn't gone anywhere without his running mate. Not even to the bathroom."

"Ick."

"Unless of course..."

"What?" Marik and Malik asked in unison.

"No, never mind. It's too risky."

"No, it isn't. Tell us. Our middle names are risky." Marik said.

"Well," Sanders paced in a little circle, "The only way we could really secure your victory with these pictures... And this is just a brainstorm, but... John Edwards would have to go missing."

"..." Marik was silent.

Malik's jaw dropped, "You mean you want us to kidnap John Edwards?!"

"Don't shout it for the whole world to hear!" Sanders glared. "Besides, I wouldn't let you do it anyway. Like I said, too risky."

"You're damn right it's too risky!" Malik looked at his yami, "Marik, tell me we're not doing this."

Marik sighed, "Well, if it's the only way..."

"Marik!"

Sanders looked at him, "You'd really consider doing this?"

"Sure. Malik, we've gotta do this. We've done dangerous things like this before. We have Yami and Yugi under wraps, right now. What's the difference adding one more to our list?"

"Yami and Yugi aren't known by the masses as important figures!"

"Yugi is the king of games, and Yami was pharaoh."

"This is different."

"It is not! Come on Malik, you know you want to. Just think about it, John Edwards is the only guy standing in your way of becoming vice president. Don't you want to kidnap him?"

"Well, I-"

"I'll take that as a yes!" Marik turned to Sanders, "We'll do it."

"Well, okay. But you CAN'T get caught! Under no circumstances are you to be discovered! Understand?"

"You got it. Me and Malik are masters of disguise."

"Ugh..." Malik sighed, "Where is he?"

"Glad you asked. He's been at the Backwoods Lodge all weekend. He should still be there. He's in cabin 13, but be careful because Kerry is staying in cabin 14. He'll be able to hear you if you make a lot of noise."

Malik raised an eyebrow, "You've been planning this, haven't you?"

"...Maybe."

"Come on, Malik." Marik headed for the door, "We've got a candidate for vice president to kidnap."


	13. His heart is purple

Dreams of power

Chapter 13:

They got outside of the building and hopped into the limo where Kaiba was impatiently waiting.

"Where the hell were you two?" Kaiba shifted in his seat, "I started to think you were scheming some evil plot."

"We were." Marik said, and then turned to the driver, "To the Backwoods Lodge, and step on it!"

The limo was soon in motion and flying down the street. Kaiba looked back at Marik, "What do you mean you were? What kind of evil plot?"

Malik sighed, "Marik promised Sanders that we would kidnap John Edwards."

"WHAT?!"

"I told you he'd be upset, Marik."

"..." Marik didn't say anything.

"Upset? I'm furious! Marik, you actually agreed to this insanity? What in hell's name is wrong with you two?!"

"Nothing's wrong with me. It's my dear yami, over there. I can't believe this..."

Marik sighed, "Clamp it, you two. I'm trying to think... this is going to take precision and diligence."

Kaiba rolled his eyes, "Then you're certainly screwed."

Marik ignored him, "Hmm. We should be in and out in under 15 minutes..."

"15 minutes?! Marik, if done right... this might take an hour at the least. What if he has guards all around his cabin?"

"You two are insane. No way am I getting my good name mixed up in a kidnapping scheme. Count me out."

"Fine," Marik said, "You can wait in the car."

"..."

Malik looked out the window, "We're getting into the woodsy part of the town..."

"Good, it means we're almost there." Marik hadn't exactly gotten a plan together, yet. He was piecing things together. He wasn't really anticipating anything like guards... after all, who would take bodyguards with them to a backwoods lodge?

The limo pulled up behind a tree, right next to cabins 13 and 14. Kaiba took in a deep breath, "Are ya sure about this, Marik? Once you do it, it can't be undone."

"Yeah, I know. We'll be okay... right, Malik?"

Malik was holding his knees close to his chest, "There's no place like home... there's no place like home..."

"Snap out of it, Malik!"

"I... I'm sorry. I'm just pretending for a quick second that I'm not doing this... Okay, I'm ready."

"Good. Here's the plan... we sneak over there and peek inside, to see if there actually are guards. If not, we go in and get him. Then bring him back here and throw him in the trunk."

"Take this." Kaiba handed a roll of duct tape to Marik.

"What's this for?"

"Before you bring him outside, wrap it around his eyes. So, if he manages to get away he won't have seen me."

"You big baby."

"I'm just being cautious. You should, too. Oh, and word to the wise... don't make too much noise capturing him. Remember, Kerry should be in the next cabin."

"Yeah..." Marik opened the car door on the other side, "Come on, Malik. We'd better do this now, before we get cold feet."

Malik followed his yami out into the woods, 'Too late for that.'

They looked back only once to see Kaiba waving, inside he was thinking, 'Those idiots.' although he continued waving merrily.

Marik led the way to where the trees stopped. There was a little clearing before the cabins appeared only 30 yards away. The bad thing was that where the clearing was, that's where the office was. The large glass window was facing towards the empty space. Although it was dark outside, the light from inside shone brightly. The people in the office would easily be able to see them if they ran across.

"What are we gonna do, Marik?"

"Lemme think..." he looked around, "Bingo."

"What?"

Marik went behind a tree and brought back a few medium sized branches with leaves still on them. "Here." He gave three to Malik.

"What am I supposed to do with these?"

"Cover yourself with them." Marik's branches were already on him, "Come on hurry up."

"Okay..." Malik draped the long branches over himself.

"You look wonderful, now let's go."

"But Marik-"

"Come on!" Marik got down on his hands and knees. "This is how we'll get over there."

Malik got down next to his yami and started to crawl just as he did. Slowly, they made progress careful not to let the light hit anything but the autumn colored leaves.

Finally they got past the clearing and into the shadow of cabin 13. They walked over to the window to try and see John inside. To their dismay, the shade was down. It was one of those thick wooly ones that looked like it'd just come off a sheep.

"Damn." Marik whispered. He looked up, then back at Malik. "I got an idea."

"What?"

He pointed to the roof, "We'll go down the chimney."

"Like Santa?"

"Sure, he's supposed to be here in a couple months anyway. Why not an early visit?"

"Okay, then let's do it."

Marik boosted Malik up onto the roof, and then his hikari helped lift him up as well. Marik walked over to the chimney edge and motioned for Malik to join him.

"Okay, I'll stick you down there and you can see what's inside."

"Stick me down there?!"

"Shh! Must you be so loud? We're over a chimney. He might be able to hear us. And yes, I'm going to put you down there. It's the only way. You can't hold me, so this is what we're going to do... like it or not."

"Well, I don't like it. What if I'm seen?"

"I'll pull you up. We've gone through this before, Malik. We did the same thing with Bush, remember?"

"And I almost got shot."

Marik sighed and grabbed his hikari, "I'm sorry to do this to you, but we're running out of time." He shoved him head first, down the square chimney and held onto his feet.

Malik's yelp of surprise was muffled as his head popped out the bottom of the chimney, lucky for him a fire wasn't going.

When he got a little used to seeing things upside down he looked around the room. John Edwards was in the living room, huddled over a desk doing something. It looked like he was drawing, but from the back Malik couldn't really tell. Plus the fact that he was upside down didn't help.

In a moment John Kerry walked in through a doorway. "You done yet?"

"In a moment... this takes time."

"Well, you'd better hurry. I've got another press conference tomorrow." He sat down in a lazy boy chair. He was quiet for another minute, "Are you done yet?"

"In a minute!"

"Don't shout! Someone might be close by."

"..."

"Do you need more paint?"

"No, I'm okay." He twirled the chair around to face Kerry, "What do you think?"

He leaned forward and smiled, "Wonderful."

Malik squinted so he could see what Edwards was holding. It was rather small and looked like a key-chain. Malik tried to place where he'd seen it before, when it finally came to him he held his hands over his mouth, 'Whoa.'

Purple and heart shaped, the counterfeit Purple Heart award hung in Edwards' hand. He walked over to a key rack on the wall next to the chimney and hung it there so the paint would dry.

Kerry looked over at all four of the fake ornaments, "Excellent, now I have four. I'll win the election for sure! America can't resist a war hero."

"You sure that we're not pushing it, John? I mean, really. Four Purple Hearts is kind of a lot."

"Don't you worry. This race is in the bag. I mean, Bush is out of the picture. Who else is there to stand in our way?"

"What about that Marik kid?"

"Him? Oh please, the very idea of him beating us is preposterous. Sure, he's good looking... but does he have four Purple Hearts? I think not." He threw his head back and laughed viciously.

Malik bit his lip, 'Ooh, this is too good. Not only are Kerry and Edwards crooks, but now I don't feel bad about kidnapping him. I gotta tell Marik!' He wiggled his legs around, trying to send the message to his yami that he was ready to come up.

Marik got the message and yanked Malik up onto the roof. "I was getting tired of holding you up. What took so long?"

"Oh, Marik it was so cool."

"What?"

"You know those 3 Purple Heart things that Kerry has, right? Well, him and John Edwards just made a 4th one."

"You can make those?"

"Well yeah. But you're not supposed to. They're not real."

"Sweet. So now we have ammo if we get caught."

Malik nodded.

"Well, this isn't exactly over. We have to go down there."

"Yeah."

Marik looked over onto the side of the roof, someone was exiting the cabin. It was Kerry; he was going back to his own. Once he shut the door behind him, Marik grabbed his hikari's hand and headed over to the edge of the chimney. "Ready to go?"

Malik nodded listlessly.

"Then let's go." Marik jumped down the chimney with Malik right behind him. Marik's boots hit the ground with a thud; he had to move a little to give Malik the space he needed to land.

He crawled onto the wooden floor and stood up, "Where is he?"

Malik soon stood behind him, "I dunno. Maybe he's with Kerry."

"No, I saw him go by himself. Maybe he's in the kitchen or something."

"Only one way to find out." Malik cautiously walked towards an open door. He peeked over the corner, it was the kitchen, but no one was in there. Malik looked back at Marik and shook his head.

Marik looked at the only other door there was beside the door to the outside. He headed over there and gingerly pushed the door open. John was coming out in a bathrobe just as Marik had opened it, "AAHH!"

Malik jumped from surprise, "Get him, Marik!"

John tried to get away but Marik grabbed his arm and swung him the other way. Since John's feet were wet he slid across the hard wood floor and fell flat on his face. Writhing in pain, John sat up and held his nose. "Oh my god! I think it's broken!"

"Hey, be quiet!" Malik grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him to the ground, "Someone is gonna hear you if you don't shut up."

Marik took the duct tape from his pocket and wrapped it around John's whole face. He left a little room for the nose, it was already damaged enough.

John struggled and flailed around, mumbling something through the tape. Marik threw him over his shoulder, "We've got him."

Malik nodded with approval. "Easier than I thought."

Just then the back door burst open, "Freeze!" it was John Kerry. He was holding a gun in his hand, although he was shaking with fear, he had the upper hand. If Marik or Malik tried to reach for their millennium rods, he'd probably blast them to kingdom come.

"Marik," Malik whispered, "This isn't good."

"I know, I know..." he whispered back.

"Drop that future vice president!" Kerry shouted, still shaking.

Marik kept Edwards over his shoulder, "Hmm." He sighed and smiled. "How pathetic."

"What'd you say?!" Kerry twisted his mouth.

"Marik!" Malik looked at him in awe. "What are you doing?!"

Marik strutted towards Kerry.

"I'm warning you!" he bit his lip, "One more step and I'll blow your head off!"

"With what?" Marik grabbed the gun from him, "A little piece of plastic?"

Kerry backed up to where he was out of the door. "Uh..."

"You mean it was a fake gun?" Malik asked.

He threw the plastic toy on the floor, "Yup. Let's go!" he ran towards the clearing, it didn't matter now if the office saw them. They were almost home free.

Malik ran towards the door, when he was almost out he doubled back and got the four Purple Hearts off of the key hook. Then followed his yami to the woods. When he caught up with him he was throwing Edwards in the back of the trunk. He quickly shut it and opened the car door, "Come on, Malik!"

Malik jumped into the car next to Kaiba and shut the door behind him. Kaiba looked from teen to teen, "Well, what happened?!"

"He's probably calling the cops." Marik said to Malik.

"Right, let's go." Malik turned to the driver, "Come on! Get us out of here!"

He stepped on the gas and the limo sped down the cobble stone road, towards the exit gate of the Backwoods Lodge.


	14. Tomorrow?

Dreams of power

Chapter 14:

They had been driving for about five minutes. Marik and Malik were catching their breath and exchanging looks of triumph. Kaiba was trying to be patient, he knew that kidnapping a politician couldn't have been easy... but he wanted all the juicy details. He had a right to know; after all... he was funding the whole thing.

"Alright you two. I've been quiet long enough. I want to know what happened back there!"

"Okay, Kaiba." Malik smiled. "You wanna know what happened?"

"Yes. That's what I've been waiting for."

"Okay then, here." He pulled out the four Purple Hearts from his back pocket and let them slip into Kaiba's hand.

"What the..." he studied them closer. "These are John Kerry's..."

"That's right." Marik said, "They're fake. Malik took them before we left. I'm glad he did, 'cause I totally forgot."

"It was actually fun. I got stuffed down a chimney and almost wet myself twice... but, it was fun."

"Glad you think so." Marik looked at him from across the seat, "It was a lot of fun, now that I think about it. You sure missed out on a good time, Kaiba."

Kaiba grunted, "I think I'll live. I heard screaming all the way from the car, that's not my idea of a good time."

When they got back to the T.V station, it was close to midnight. Marik and Malik had to carry John Edwards up with them, Kaiba refused to leave fingerprints. They got up onto the top floor and saw Sanders sleeping on his desk. Instead of yelling his name like they normally would, Marik dropped John onto Sanders' desk, right next to his head.

"Hey!" Sanders sat up straight. "What is this?!"

"John Edwards!" Marik and Malik shouted in unison.

"Oh! Oh yeah, him. Well, you got him... that's good."

"And that's not all." Malik dropped the Purple Hearts onto the desk, "Look what we found with Kerry and Edwards."

"You stole their Purple Hearts? Wait, how did they get four? I thought Kerry only had three."

"They're all fake. We saw Edwards helping Kerry make one." Marik said.

"Yeah..." Sanders held one to the light, "I think...it is a fake. Wow! Do you know what this means?"

"No." Marik and Malik said in unison.

"I'm speechless! I mean, this is great! It's ammo I never even dreamed of. You two have really outdone yourselves. With Kerry gone from the race, who else is there? It's wonderful, it's spectacular, it's-"

"I though you said you were speechless." Malik groaned.

Sanders rolled his eyes, "Sorry. But this is great... you two have this thing in the bag. Now that you have these, you really don't need John Edwards. We can let him go."

"WHAT?!" Kaiba, Marik, and Malik shouted in disbelief.

"That's right. We've got all we need, he's pointless now."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Malik rubbed his forehead, "You mean that we did all that for nothing? I think I've been traumatized."

"Well, we can't just let him go. He's seen us, and knows who we are." Marik said, "We'll just have to keep him."

"Keep him?! What should we do with him? Put him in our closet with Yami and Yugi?"

"Sure, why not? There's enough room."

"You are impossible."

"It's the only choice we have."

"Fine, fine!" Kaiba interrupted, "But whatever you do, do it quickly. Besides we have- Oh Ra! I totally forgot! Tomorrow!"

"What about tomorrow?" Sanders asked, "Good god! I think I know what you remembered! How could I have forgotten?! Kaiba, are they ready?"

"No, they're not! What am I going to do? We can't just have them wing it."

"Why not? That's what they've been doing so far. I say just put them up there, Marik is very resourceful."

"Sometimes. And it's not really him I'm worried about. It's Malik, they're better off together. And the debate is candidate and running mate separate."

Marik and Malik looked at them, "What are you two talking about?"

Kaiba turned to them, "You know that debate I told you guys about? The very important one?"

They nodded.

"It's tomorrow."

"What?!"

"Yes, Sanders and I forgot. I have no idea what we're going to do."

"Well, it's talking about the issues, right?" Malik asked.

"Yeah, mostly. But they'll be asking questions and-"

"Don't worry Kaiba. We're fine just going up there and winging it. We've done that before and it turned out-"

"Awful!" Sanders said, "We have to teach you how to answer those type of questions on your own. The only reason you did as well as you did before is because you were with each other. This time you'll be on your own."

Malik swallowed hard, "Alone? I don't know about that."

"We don't have a choice, Malik."

"But Marik, I don't want-"

"Okay, teach us." Marik said, ignoring Malik.

"Fine, but we'll have to work fast. Sanders, take Malik. I'll take Marik." Kaiba dragged Marik to the elevator. "Say goodbye to Malik, Marik. This'll be the last time you see him till tomorrow."

Marik waved goodbye.

Malik did the same.

"Alright, Malik. We've got a limited amount of time, and a lot to cover."

"I'm tired, Sanders. I want to go to sleep." Malik curled up on the couch next to the desk. "Goodnight."

"No, no, no! Listen, I know you're tired. Usually after I go out kidnapping vice presidents, I take a little nap too. But you don't have time. The debate is at six tomorrow evening. We've got eighteen hours. Get up, we've got vice presidential training to do."

"Yeah, okay..." Malik sat straight up, "Mold me."

"Right! So, first thing you need to know is how to dodge direct questions. For instance... if someone asks you about your political past, what do you say?"

"Uh..."

"No! See, you can't hesitate. You do that and everyone will think you're going to lie."

"But aren't I?"

"Yes. But you don't want them to know that. You've got to be cunning. You've got to be suave. You basically have to be a pathological liar."

"Got it. No hesitation."

Marik and Kaiba were back at the hotel room. Kaiba was sitting on the bed next to him trying to make him understand how this whole thing would be working. He already knew he wouldn't be with Malik, he wasn't entirely happy about not having his hikari with him... but there wasn't much that he could do about it. The one thing he had to worry about was his debate with Kerry. Just because he had the hearts, doesn't mean that he'd be out of the woods yet.

"Alright, Marik. Kerry is going to be ruthless up there. You'll need everything you have to pull this off. Especially now that your other half won't be with you."

"I still don't know why their separating us."

"Don't worry. Malik will be fine. Since we have John Edwards, whose going to debate him? No one, that's who. He'll be fine, now worry about your situation!"

"Yeah, okay."

"You and Kerry both have an edge in this. But yours is slightly bigger. Yes, he could call you a thief on national T.V. But if he does, you can just show what you thieved and then the tables will turn."

Marik grinned, "Right."

"We'll try and win this on merit alone. But if the people start to favor him, then we'll have to unleash our secret weapon."

"But what if-"

BOOM! Marik was cut off by a loud thud in the closet. One more hit and the door flew open and two spiky-headed teens feel out onto the floor. Still tied up in sheets, Yami and Yugi were gasping for air.

Kaiba raised both eyebrows, "What the hell?!"

Marik stood up, "How'd you get out of there? Get back inside, we're having an important conversation."

"No... no way, Marik." Yugi breathed heavily.

Yami finally caught his breath, "You've kept us in your closet long enough! Who knows what havoc you've caused the world while we've been in there!"

Marik raised his arm, "Talk to the hand, pharaoh. I'm busy."

"What in Ra's name are they doing in your closet?" Kaiba asked.

"Forget it. They were going back inside," Marik glared at the two, "Weren't you?"

"No, we weren't!" Yugi slithered out of the sheet, "Enough is enough, Marik! You're not going to be president!"

"Oh yeah? Well, tomorrow Malik and me have our last debate before the final voting. And we're going to win. What do ya say to that?"

"I say you're nuts! Anyone would have to be nuts to vote for you." Yami stood up, "I'm warning you-"

"You're warning me?! How about I warn you." He jumped on the smaller yami and wrestled him to the ground.

Yugi tried desperately to get Marik off of Yami but Kaiba intervened. He grabbed the young boy and stuffed him back in the sheet, then threw him in the closet. Marik already had Yami in there and they shut the door, hard.

Yami and Yugi pounded against the door for a few minutes but then got to tired to carry on anymore.

Kaiba wiped the sweat off his forehead, "Marik, I'm not even going to ask."

"Good. 'Cause I wouldn't answer you anyway."


	15. Into the light

Dreams of power

Chapter 15:

The position of the sun had signaled that it was no longer noon but later. Around three o' clock Marik and Kaiba were asleep in the hotel room. They were exhausted from the night before. Kaiba tried to get Marik to be serious and Marik tried to eat. Neither had gotten what they wanted.

A little ray of sunshine shone through the blinds and hit Kaiba's eyelids. As he mumbled 'Marik stop it,' he sat up and looked around. Marik was lying halfway on the bed and halfway on the floor, snoring.

Kaiba looked at the clock on the bedside table, "Marik! Oh Ra! Marik, wake up! We're going to be late!"

"Huh?" he moved a little and lifted his head, "Kaiba?"

"Yes! Wake up, come on, we're going to be late for the debate!"

"Oh yeah..." he stood up woozily and headed for the door, "Let's go then..."

"Marik!"

"What?"

"You're in your underwear, dunce." Kaiba pointed out.

"Well, so are you but I'm not being rude about it."

"..."

---------------------------------------------

In about an hour (when both Marik and Kaiba were dressed) they arrived at a large dome. It looked like it was fifty stories high and fifty stories wide. Black with a silver lining of chrome everywhere, it resembled a gigantic bubble of darkness. Marik thought it looked like the outside of a shadow duel.

They were quickly surrounded by 'men in black' copies, and were then escorted to the front of the building. Two of the men opened the large chrome doors and motioned for them to go inside.

On the inside there was a silver lobby, with tall ceilings and plants lining the walls. Not many people were in there, only a few more guards and two or three reporters that were let in before the event.

One of the bodyguards came up next to Marik, "Mr. Ishtar, your running mate is waiting for you in the third lobby."

"Third? How many ya got?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes and dragged Marik through some more metallic doors. When they reached the third room with the word 'Lobby' over it they went inside and saw Malik and Sanders sitting down.

"Hey, Marik!" Malik got up quickly and ran over to his yami, "I was waiting for you."

He smiled, "Having fun?

"This place is huge Marik! I had to go the bathroom a little while ago and I got lost. I ended up peeing on a potted palm."

"I know, it's kinda scary... But in a good way."

"I'm sort of nervous, Marik. I've never done a debate before..."

"You won't have anyone to debate, Malik." Kaiba said, "We already have John Edwards on lockdown."

"Hey, that's right." Malik smiled, suddenly feeling much better.

While Marik and Malik were talking and catching up, Sanders took Kaiba over to the side of the room to talk in private, "So, is Marik ready?"

"... Well, there could be two answers to that question."

"What?!"

"He thinks he's ready. And in most cases, he probably would be. But isn't John Kerry supposed to be a really good debater?"

"One of the best."

"Marik's got a lot of potential. He's just going to have to do the best he can."

"How good is his best?"

"Don't worry. He knows this is a very important day. Marik can be serious when he really wants to."

"Hey Kaiba! Sanders!" they heard Malik yell from behind the coffee machine. "Look!"

Marik had his head under the nozzle and had all the 'Nutmeg' flavored coffee running into his mouth. He hadn't spilled a drop and was swallowing it as it poured into him.

Malik giggled, "He's going for the world record! He's going to drink the whole machine! Go, Marik!"

Three guards poked their heads in the door and looked at all four of them with questioning looks on their faces, "..."

Kaiba and Sanders were embarrassed beyond belief. "Oh god..."

"And you think he's ready to go against Kerry?" Sanders asked.

"I said he had potential. I didn't say he was smart."

Soon the machine emptied of all the coffee and Marik jumped up and down, "I did it! I did it! I did it..." he stopped jumping and ran out the door, "Out of the way, I gotta go to the bathroom!"

Malik laughed while watching his yami run frantically down the hallway. Once he was out of sight Malik turned around to Kaiba and Sanders.

"Why aren't ya laughing?"

"We're not laughing," Sanders cleared his throat, "Because you both are supposed to be serious today. Marik has to be especially focused."

"That's right," Kaiba added, "If not, we're going to be in... Oh my Ra..."

"What?" Malik and Sanders looked at him.

Seto pointed towards the door, "Look."

When they did they saw a couple of guards walking down the hallway, but behind them was John Kerry, followed by John Edwards... dressed in the same dark blue polyester business suit as Kerry, his hair combed over to the side and his nose had been fixed since that night in the cabin. He sneered at Malik and Kaiba then looked forward and kept walking forward with his partner.

Malik rushed over to the door just as they were out of sight and gazed down the hallway. Edwards turned around to mouth the words, 'You're going down.'

He ran back into the room too say something to Kaiba and Sanders but just as he opened his mouth Marik came into the room, "Hey! Did you guys just see-"

"Yeah," Malik nodded, "What happened?"

"You tell me! You and Sanders were the last to be with him last night!"

"We dropped him off at the hotel last night and locked him up in the closet with Yami and Yugi..."

"Uh-oh."

"What?"

"That means... that means that Yami and Yugi must be free as well!"

"Marik, what are we gonna do!?"

Kaiba and Sanders were frantic as well, not so much about Yami and Yugi being free but about Edwards being able to debate Malik.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Sanders yelped, acting more like a teenage girl with concert tickets, "What are we going to do Kaiba?! I shrugged off most of Malik's training because I thought he wouldn't have to say anything! This is terrible, awful even!"

"Alright, alright, shut-up! Let me think..." Kaiba scratched his head, "The way I see it, we have no choice. Malik's going to have to go up there. He'll just have to wing it and hope for the best."

"Uh..." Malik slid down to the ground, "I think I'm going to be sick..."

Marik was about to say something comforting but didn't get a chance to before a guy in a suit walked into the room , "Mr. Ishtar, Mr. Ishtar, we're ready for you."

Marik and Malik looked at him, "Okay..." they said sheepishly.

All four of them followed the man down four hallways to a dark dungeon-type hallway with two doorways. One large one with five security men surrounding it, and another plain looking one with stairs that led upward. Kaiba and Sanders started for the plain one.

"Come on, Marik. We have to go to our seats." Kaiba said.

"Seats?"

"Yes. The vice presidential candidate debate is first. We have to watch."

Malik looked at them in disbelief, "You mean he can't even be up there with me?!"

Marik looked regretfully at Malik then started walking upstairs behind Sanders and Kaiba, "Good-luck, Malik."

Two of the guards opened the metal double doors for Malik, he turned around and took a deep breath as he entered the bright light.


	16. Debate Part 1

Dreams of power

Chapter 16:

As Malik walked nervously into the light, two of the bodyguards were on either side of him. The first thing he saw after the bright light dimmed was a huge stage with the American flag painted in sparkly red, white, and blue. In front of it were more then two thousand chairs, with more then two thousand important looking people. Some of which he recognized from different news segments.

Big balloons with the American flag on them hung on the walls in bunches. It looked like one of those giant opera theaters, only with more lights... and there was going to be a hell of a lot more drama. Malik was told earlier that signs and stuff like that weren't allowed, so he didn't really expect to see any 'Go Malik' posters. Finally, a large plasma T.V hung over the stage with an American flag waving on it came into view.

'Hmm.' Malik thought, 'America must be the theme this year.'

He was led up to one of the clear see-through podiums on stage. The crowd clapped and the female reporters whistled insanely. Malik gave a little smile, but his smile soon flipped back into a frown as John Edwards strolled on stage and stood behind another clear podium.

Malik thought they would be the only ones on stage, but that was not the case. About ten feet from where he and Edwards were, a panel of three people appeared. Malik was confused as yet another person came up on stage. He walked over to Malik after visiting with John.

"Are ya ready? We're good to go, so we'd like to start."

"Oh, yeah. I'm... ready." He sighed.

"Okay then!" he walked over to the marked spot right in the middle of Edwards and Malik. He had no podium, just a carry-around microphone. The lights went off to a complete darkness and Malik was getting even more nervous by the second.

"This is the 2004 vice presidential debate!" A booming voice from the plasma screen yelled, "Malik Ishtar against John Edwards! The referee for this debate will be Mr. Peter Jennings." The lights came on in a bright flash.

Malik looked back at the white haired old man that just talked to him. He was tossing the microphone from one hand to the other, "And let me introduce the panelists. Starting from left to right... Tom Brockton, Kate Kirk, and Taylor Crow!"

The panelists stood up and smiled to everyone including Malik and Edwards. But Malik wasn't paying attention; he was looking around the audience for Marik, Kaiba, and Sanders.

They were up in one of those high expensive seats, like at the theatre that only rich people or VIPs sat in. Malik looked up and saw his yami waving back down at him. Suddenly he felt much better. But his calm moment was short lived, as Peter Jennings' voice brought him back to reality.

"Let me explain the rules for this debate." He cleared his throat, "Each panelist will give each candidate two questions. While the candidate is answering said question the other person will not be allowed to interrupt. Once the questions are over, that will signal the end of the debate. We will then take a thirty-minute recess and come to the Presidential debate. Are the rules clear?"

Malik and John Edwards nodded when Mr. Jennings looked at them. "Good," he said, "Then let's get this thing on the road! Let's start the questioning with panelist Tom Brockton. Mr. Brockton, please begin."

The man in the first seat, with dark brown hair and one of those curly French mustaches nodded towards Mr. Jennings. He cleared his throat, "Thank you, Pete. Now... my first question is for... Mr. Edwards."

John straightened and put on a fake half smile.

"Mr. Edwards... why do you think the direction that Kerry is pointing to will even work?"

John fidgeted for a second, gathering his thoughts and then he spoke, "Well, John Kerry is a great man and..." he went on into boring detail.

Malik had his elbows resting on top of his podium next to his microphone, 'This is gonna be a disaster... How come Marik's debate can't be first? I think he's going to do better than I will.'

John was finishing the answer to his first question, "... but we have no idea where Mr. Ishtar is going to lead this country. Kerry on other the hand has been in the senate for 20 years. We can safely assume that he will keep this country on a straight arrow."

"Fine, my next question is for Mr. Ishtar." Tom turned towards Malik, "Mr. Ishtar, we know very little about you. What experience makes you think to you could end the war against terror?"

"Experience? Hmm." He thought for a second, "Well, me and Marik think a lot like terrorists."

Gasps broke out among the audience and the panelists. Kaiba was up in the high seats trying to revive Sanders, who had just fainted. Marik looked on curiously as his hikari tried to take back what he said.

"Ooh! Wait a minute, I take that back! I meant, that we've dealt with a lot of terrorist like people. Ever met a guy named Yugi Motou?"

Everyone calmed down and Tom went on with his next question, which he directed towards Edwards, "Um... Mr. Edwards, do you think the government has anything to do with the number of destitute people in America today?"

"No, of course not." John said, "It's not the government's fault if people are too lazy to work. They need to get off their duff and doing something about their financial predicament."

The people clapped and the Tom turned to Malik, "Mr. Ishtar, same question."

"Uh... Well, yeah. I think it's the government's fault." He scratched his head, "I mean, couldn't the people in office make a few more jobs for the hobos? Sometimes there are so many hobos around that you can't get to the mailbox and back without stepping on one. It gets annoying after a while."

The audience clapped for him, too. Which made him smile.

John snorted, "And why should the government be responsible for the public's laziness?"

It really wasn't allowed to talk during the other persons turn, but no one stopped him because Malik was already answering, "It isn't all laziness. There just aren't enough jobs for everyone. The government should make more jobs for the people."

"A lot of the positions are already filled. It's first come first serve. People who don't have normal everyday jobs should come up with something creative... invent something the world has never seen before."

"If the world's never seen it before, then how are they supposed to?"

"Imagination. How do you think the T.V was created? Or electricity for that matter? It all started with creativity and imagination."

"Well, what about people without imagination? Not everyone is a Thomas Edison in waiting, ya know. What about jobs for the average person?"

"..." John didn't have a reply.

But everyone behind the panelist seats was clapping extremely hard for Malik. Kaiba, Marik, and Sanders were whistling... even though Kaiba thought it wasn't very professional.

"Okay, we'll go to our next panelist now." Peter said, "Ms. Kate Kirk, you're up."

She smiled sweetly at him then turned to face Malik, "Okay then, Mr. Ishtar. My first question is for you..." she thought for a second, "There have been a lot of rumors about John Kerry. Do any of them have any truth to them?"

He swallowed hard but answered in a shrill voice, "Of course not! There isn't one shred of truth to those awful pieces of gossip. John Kerry has always played by the rules. Which is more than I can say for others in this room..." he looked up at Marik.

Malik followed his eyes, "Hey! Wait a minute; Marik plays by the rules more than Kerry! And he isn't fake, either... Unlike the two of you."

"Are you insinuating that John Kerry and I lack honesty?"

"No, I'm saying that you lie a lot!"

"Why you little-"

"Gentlemen!" Pete interrupted this time, "Malik, Ms. Kirk has readied her question for you." He nodded towards her.

"Oh, okay..." he turned around.

Kate cleared her throat, "Mr. Ishtar, if elected vice president what do you plan to do about the decline in numbers of America's natural resources?"

"You mean stuff like trees?"

She nodded.

"Oh. Well, isn't that what Arbor Day is for?" he thought for a minute, "But then again no one takes that seriously... no one even considers it a holiday."

Kaiba turned to Marik and whispered, "I think that good answer earlier was just a fluke."

Malik continued, "You know, it would be more popular if people gave out presents on Arbor Day. Yup, then with every present you get you could plant a tree. Cool, huh?"

"That's just a quick fix," Edwards butted in. "Stuff like that always is. Besides, there's no guarantee that it would work."

"Nothing is guaranteed. And what would you know about holidays anyway? You and Kerry act like you've never had a holiday in your life."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You don't have a free spirit. Where's the joy in your life?"

"America doesn't need joy! America needs a strong leader. A leader who will do whatever he has to for this country. A leader that won't be afraid to give his life for the very land on which he lives!"

The audience clapped and Malik sighed, "That's the most ridiculous thing. America doesn't need joy... where do you get this stuff? Do you want them to be boring and unexciting like you?"

"Unexciting?! We get enough excitement everyday!"

"Ahem!" Kate said, "Can I get on with my next question?"

They nodded.

"Thank you. My next question is for Mr. Edwards...because you are an attorney, would you vote against any bills that set a limit on the amount of money someone could sue for?"

The thought for a minute, "Well... yes and no. I'd have to think about it. Because someone's case could be sever enough to sue for a certain amount. And some might just try and get more money than their case is worth. So again, I'd have to give it some thought."

"That's silly." Malik said.

"What are you talking about now?!"

"You can't make up your mind about a little thing like this? How are you supposed to be vice president if you're so wishy-washy?"

"Wishy-washy?! Don't you call me wishy-washy!"

"Wishy-washy! Wishy-washy! Wishy-washy!"

"Stop that!"

"Make me!"

"I will! Just wait till we get down from here!"

"You couldn't beat me last night and you won't beat me tonight-" Malik clamped his hands over his mouth as soon as that came out. He swallowed hard hoping no one was paying him much attention. No such luck... everyone in the room was looking at him.

"What do you mean 'last night'?" Pete asked.

Malik looked at Edwards. He wasn't going to say anything, Malik supposed he didn't want anyone to know about the fake purple hearts. Malik scratched his head, "We... uh, played chess... over the internet. I won. That's what I meant."

"Okay." Kate said, "My last question is for you Mr. Ishtar. Nuclear bombs, do you think we should use them against the terrorists?"

"If worse comes to worse, yeah. Blow 'em sky high. Better them then us, right? Sure it may take a few countries with it, but really... who visits 'Saudi Arabia' anyway?"

Everyone was silent. Sanders fainted again and this time there was no Kaiba to revive him, because he had fainted as well. Marik was giggling uncontrollably.

"O...Kay." Pete had a stunned look on his face, "Ms. Kirk, thank you. We will now go to our last panelist, Mr. Taylor Crow."

Taylor nodded, "Thanks Pete, my first question is for Mr. Edwards. Mr. Edwards, would you consider over population to be a big problem of ours?"

"Yes. I think it's a huge problem. People go out and have babies and can't support them. It's ridiculous the way some of these things work. Prostitution-"

He was interrupted by Malik's giggling. "Tee-hee-hee!"

"Ahem!" John looked at him.

"I'm sorry... Go ahead. I didn't mean-"he laughed again, "That makes me laugh!"

"The word prostitution makes you-"

"Hahahahaha! Stop it! Hehehehe!"

John threw his arms in the air, "What the hell?!"

"Let's move on then," Mr. Crow sighed, "Mr. Ishtar, are you quite finished?"

He just calmed down, "Yeah... yeah, I'm okay..." he smiled, "Go ahead."

"Fine then, here's my question... Do you think it's a good idea to draft people into the army and or military?"

"No way. That's mean. You shouldn't have to work in the military if you don't want to. You should live your life the way you want to. And no offense to the military people out there, but it looks boring."

"Just like I thought." John said.

"What?"

"The little boy doesn't like the idea of getting his hands dirty for his country."

"What are you talking about?! My hands are dirtier than yours will ever be! You've been comfortable all your life. What would you know about getting dirty and fighting for your country? You're a lawyer."

"So are you. I thought." He smiled maliciously, "Aren't you?"

"Hey! Of course I am!" a drop of sweat ran down his cheek, "I just... do harder work than you."

"Whatever."

Taylor cleared his throat, "Alright, Mr. Edwards, if you were elected vice president... what would you do about the public school systems? There are less and less people graduating every year."

"Well, I'd simply try to pass a bill to make it mandatory to graduate from high school. They wouldn't have the option to drop out at sixteen like they do now."

"Interesting." Taylor said, "Mr. Ishtar, same question."

He thought for a second, "Well, I wouldn't take away their options!" he looked at Edwards, "I'd probably give them a present after they graduated. Like a $5,000 reward for finishing school. That way they'd have something to look forward to all during school, and would be motivated to finished."

"What?!" John yelled, "Most of them hardly pass with a D! And then everyone would start getting through school just for that money! America would go bankrupt!"

"We would not."

"You're impossible! I refuse to say anything more!"

"Good, then maybe I can hear myself think."

He shot Malik a dirty look.

"Well folks," Pete said, looking towards one of the cameras. "This ends the vice presidential debate for 2004. We have a thirty-minute break until the presidential debate begins. Thanks for staying with us."


	17. Debate Part 2

Dreams of power

Chapter 17:

Malik jumped off the stage and walked back into the dark hallway from where he came. He stood by the staircase, waiting for Marik and the others to show up. No sooner did he get comfortable Marik came bounding down the stairs.

"Marik!" he said, turning around. "Did you see me, huh?"

"Yeah, I saw you! You were great!" Marik turned to Kaiba who was coming down behind him, "Wasn't he great?"

"Well, he didn't crash and burn. Which is what I anticipated."

Marik waved away his comment, "What does he know? You did a lot better than anyone thought you would. But I knew you could do it. I couldn't stop laughing, you really had Edwards on the ropes."

"Really? Cool. You'll do great, too, Marik. Kerry's got nothing on you."

"That's right." He grinned, "Once I'm done with him, we'll have the whole election in the bag! This is so awesome."

Sanders was soon in the hallway, "Marik, I suggest you rest until the thirty minutes are up. Getting too overly excited isn't a good idea."

"Whatever. I'm not excited." He put on a 'not caring' face, "I'm totally calm."

Just then more bodyguards entered the hall from the large double doors. They were surrounding John Kerry and Edwards. But behind them, two spiky tri-colored heads could be seen. Marik and Malik squinted to see a little bit of Yami and Yugi's faces.

"Hey!" Marik called out, "Yami?! Yugi?!"

Everyone stopped and the two boys stepped out into the light. Yami stood in front of Marik, "Hello. Did ya miss me?"

"What in hell's name are you doing out here?! I tied you up!"

"Where there's a will, there's a way. We got out, and we're going help Kerry and Edwards as thanks for saving us."

"What?! Why?!" Malik asked.

"We would have done it anyway," Yugi said, "It's just something we've got to do."

"Aw, come on!" Marik pleaded, "Think about all the time we've spent together! We're practically best friends! And you're going let some guy come between us?"

"Best friends?!" they exclaimed in unison, "You've beat us up, tricked us, and stuffed us in closets!"

"And you don't call that bonding?"

"Ugh!" they yelled in aggravation and kept following Kerry and Edwards down the hallway.

"Fine!" Marik called after them, "But don't expect a Christmas present this year!"

Malik swallowed, "What do you think they're going to do, Marik?"

"Don't worry. They can't do much. Can they, guys?" he looked at Sanders and Kaiba.

They pretended not to pay attention to him. In truth... there was a lot they could do. But as usual... Marik and Malik were blissfully unaware of it.

The thirty-minute recess went by fast. Marik and Malik spent the time sleeping in the hallway. Mr. Jennings told Kaiba to get Marik up on stage for the Presidential candidate debate. Marik wasn't tired once he got up; he rushed right over to metal doors that Malik went through earlier.

Malik started up the stairs with Kaiba and Sanders behind him, "Good luck Marik. We'll be watching!"

"This'll be cake." He said waving, then turned and the guards opened the doors.

The bright light ran down the walls of the hallway and Marik stepped into it. The same things were in the same places as before. But on the other side, John Kerry was walking on stage, to the podium opposite Marik. As Kerry walked up he gave Marik a look of pure hatred. Marik stuck his tongue out.

Peter Jennings took his microphone once again, "Hello and welcome to the second half of today's debate. This promises to be a real spectacle. With Senator John Kerry going against Marik Ishtar. Once again let me explain the rules... Each panelist will ask each candidate two questions. When the candidate is answering said question the other candidate isn't allowed to interrupt. This time, though, there will be a time limit for the candidates' answer, 5 minutes is all. The panelists will be the same... Mr. Brockton, Ms. Kirk, and Mr. Crow. This time we'll go from right to left. Mr. Crow, please start us off."

Taylor nodded, "Thank you Mr. Jennings. My first question is for Mr. Kerry. John Kerry, how do you plan to revitalize the economy?"

"Well, I blah blah blah..." he didn't really say 'blah blah blah' but that's all Marik heard.

He was starring at Kerry as he answered the question, 'What the hell?! I don't even know what most of those words mean! What's 'revitalize' anyway? Isn't that something you put in tea? How are you gonna tea the economy? This makes no sense! They better not ask me something like that. I don't even drink tea.'

In another couple of minutes, Kerry finished his short speech. Which Marik paid no attention to whatsoever. He was counting the number of hairs on his knuckles when Mr. Crow looked back at him, "Mr. Ishtar?"

"Huh?"

He groaned, "Mr. Ishtar, please pay attention. My question was... As president, what do you think the American people would expect of you?"

"Hmm. Well, they'd expect me to be a good leader. Great, even. Actually, I think they should be grateful for any president that doesn't get them blown up... just because someone has more experience in combat thing doesn't mean they'd be the best candidate for president. Anyway, everyone thinks experience is an important trait in a president. But it isn't."

"It isn't?" Kerry asked in a low voice.

"Nope." He shook his head, "A lot of the previous presidents had a lot of experience... but look at what's happened. We've been bombed, and we've got terrorists running amuck all over the country. And I thought America was supposed to be the safest country in the world."

"You're never completely safe in a world where people are willing to blow themselves up just to take someone with them."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... So, there are crazy people out there. They've been there since the beginning of time, and something tells me they will always be there. That doesn't mean you can go and hide. There are ways other than heavy artillery and being afraid."

"I don't intend to-"

"I'm sorry gentlemen, but the time limit for that question is up." Mr. Jennings interrupted, "Mr. Crow will now ask his next question to Mr. Kerry."

"Mr. Kerry, how do you plan on winning the war against terror?"

"Anything can be solved with a little patience and negotiating. We don't have to completely destroy them to win this fight. We must re-evaluate our situation with the Middle East. I do intend to put this war to rest. Nothing will stop America from overcoming these dark times!"

The audience clapped soundly at Kerry's small speech. Once the applause died down Mr. Crow turned towards Marik, "Mr. Ishtar, same question."

"How would I solve the war against terror? Easy. Blow them away! For Ra's sake, all this talk about negotiating... it's pathetic. And what was that?! Dark times? Where are we, Lord of the Rings? That's what's wrong with some people today... they're afraid to fight for what they believe in. And another thing, every time someone yells 'America' you people go nuts. I'll tell ya something... if you people don't come back to reality, America will be gone."

Gasps were rising from the crowd but Marik continued, "That's right, I said gone. I mean, really. We've got people running around blowing things up. And people like him," he pointed to Kerry, "Are in office drinking espresso and trying to 'negotiate' with crazy poor people who speak a different language! How much longer are we going to remain like this?"

Once Marik stopped, _crazy_ applause was erupting from the crowds. Malik, Sanders, and Kaiba were making the most noise. Even the panelists were applauding. Marik smiled and then turned to stick his tongue out at John. Kerry returned the gesture, then turned back around and smiled to himself.

Peter Jennings cleared his throat, "We will now go to out second panelist. Ms. Kate Kirk."

She nodded, "Thanks, Pete. My first question is for Mr. Ishtar... Why don't you want Mr. Kerry to win?"

"Well, besides the fact that he's just plain ugly... he's going to try and lead this country in the wrong direction. Notice that when he's asked a question about his plans for America... he doesn't really say anything. He goes around and around without getting to the point. A guy like that shouldn't be in charge of the most powerful country on Earth."

She nodded, "Mr. Kerry, same question."

"My opponent Mr. Ishtar..." he went on to say that Marik was the one trying to lead the country astray.

Malik was still sitting and watching the debate. He was intensely watching everything that went on. Briefly, his eyes went up to the other side of the room where John Edwards was watching Kerry as he answered the question. Yami was sitting next to him, watching as well. Malik didn't think much of it... he knew Yami and Yugi were on their side.

'Huh?' he thought, 'Where's Yugi? He was here a few minutes ago.' He looked around and in a minute saw a spiky head moving back towards the hallway. 'Hmm.'

Just out of curiosity Malik snuck out of the booth to see where Yugi was going. He got down onto the lower level and looked around. Yugi was moving pretty fast and Malik had to run to keep up with him. They were at the back of the audience near the two different staircases, one went up and one went down.

Yugi started up the stairs and Malik followed quickly but quietly. The stairs were tall and Malik was starting to get bored following someone he hated for such a long distance. Finally the stairs stopped and a long metallic hallway came before them.

Malik stopped about two feet behind Yugi. He had to hold his breath so Yugi wouldn't hear... unfortunately, Malik couldn't hold his breath for long. He ended up gasping loudly for air and Yugi whirled around to see him standing there.

"What are you doing up here?!" he asked backing up.

"I should be asking you the same thing." A little videotape in Yugi's hand caught Malik's attention, "What's that?"

He stuffed it in his pocket, "Nothing."

"Don't lie. What, is it a dirty movie? Did ya come up here to watch it?"

"No! Shouldn't you be down stairs supporting Marik?"

"Shouldn't you be down stairs supporting Kerry?"

He backed up a little more, "I'll be there in a minute..."

"Come on, I don't trust you." He took Yugi's hand to drag him down stairs but as he did, the tape fell out of his pocket. On the front, it said 'Thief'.

Malik snatched it up before Yugi could, "Thief, huh? What kind of name for a porn tape is that?"

"It isn't pornography! Give it back to me!"

"No."

"Ugh!" Yugi jumped for it and surprisingly he managed to take it from Malik. He ran down the hallway and into a room. He shut the door behind him and pushed a chair up against the doorknob.

Yugi turned around to see a bunch of buttons and a big screen T.V that kind of resembled the plasma screen down stairs. He could hear Malik pounding on the door to get in. He went over to the consol and pushed the tape into the drive. He had to watch the tape all the way through one more time before he aired it in the debating room.

The video was about two minutes long... it was of the night before where Marik and Malik broke into the cabin and kidnapped John Edwards. Some of the footage had been edited out... like anything with the Purple Hearts. Mostly it was of Marik throwing Edwards to the floor and of him putting a wiggling body in the back of Kaiba's limo. If the taped aired on the plasma screen, Kaiba would be toast as well as Marik and Malik.

'I'm sorry to do this to ya, Kaiba. But it's the only way to make sure Marik doesn't get into office.' Yugi thought as he rewound the tape to the beginning.

Just before Yugi pressed the 'play live' button Malik came busting through the door, "Yugi! Hold on!"

He turned around, "What?"

"Are even thinking, man? It's only gonna make Kerry lose if you show that. Not that I care but-"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Marik still has the Purple Hearts, duh!"

"No, he doesn't." said a voice from behind. Malik turned around to see Yami in the doorway.

"What are you talking about?"

Yami held up a plastic bag full with four Purple Hearts, "I took them while you two were sleeping during the intermission."

Malik started to panic, "Oh no, not good!"

"Yugi, play the tape! Now!" Yami yelled.

Yugi did as he was told and punched the play button. As the tape started Malik bit his lip and ran towards Yami. He jumped on him and tried to take the plastic bag from his hand. Yami managed to push him off so that he could throw the bag to Yugi who was now in the hallway.

Once Yugi caught it, Malik ran after him and they were down the hallway heading for the stairs. Malik was about two steps behind Yugi and they both were almost halfway down the steps. The plastic bag was going back and forth in Yugi's hand as Malik tried to grab it.

As they rounded another corner, Malik slipped and started to tumble head first down the metal stairs. He bumped right into Yugi and they both went down together. Turns out that falling was a faster mode of transportation then running. They hit the bottom step in less than five seconds.

After ten seconds of not being able to see straight Malik got up and found himself back in the large debating room. Yugi was on the floor at his feet with the Purple Hearts still in his hand. Malik quickly grabbed them and started running towards the stage.

As he got closer he could see the tape playing on the plasma screen behind Marik and Kerry. Marik's eyes were practically popping out of his head as he starred at himself on screen throwing Edwards on the hard wood floor.

Kerry on the other hand was grinning so hard that his cheeks looked like they were about to fly from his face.

Malik ran as fast as he could but when he got about fifteen feet from the stage, he yelled, "Marik! Catch!"

Marik looked back just in time to see the plastic bag fly through the air and into his hands, 'I was wondering where these went!'

When the videotape went off the crowd was silent. Every last pair of eyes in the room was directed at Marik. Kerry was looking at him, too. 'I wonder what stupid thing he's gonna say to try and save his butt this time...'

Marik smiled and held up all four of the Purple Hearts, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to show you something that Mr. Kerry and Mr. Edwards have been keeping under their hats. John Kerry now has _four_ Purple Heart Awards. But guess what? Each one of them is FAKE!"

Gasps and shouts of disbelief were now coming from the audience. Their stares were now directed at Kerry and some at John Edwards who was still in his seat.

"This is unbelievable!" Mr. Jennings shouted.

Statements just like that one came from the panelists and others that were appalled at Kerry's behavior. Some were disgusted with Marik's behavior. Malik had gone back to his seat in the booth along with Kaiba and Sanders (both were on the floor.)

Kerry was still looking at his counterfeit awards that were in Marik's hand. He felt light-headed and dizzy. All that Marik felt was exhaustion. Seeing yourself kidnap a vice presidential candidate on a big T.V in front of many important figures takes a lot of you.


	18. Before the voting

Dreams of power

Chapter 18:

It was three weeks after the presidential debate. During those three weeks the only thing on every news channel was Marik and Kerry. It was now universal knowledge that Marik had beaten up John Edwards and Kerry had made counterfeit Purple Hearts. The only thing keeping both of them from being thrown in jail was the fact that no one really knew if it was true.

The police called it 'circumstantial evidence'. Of course some of the Americans called the whole thing a 'conspiracy'. They had an interview on Fox News with some man who worked in the White House. He said that no one gives a care about democracy as long as they can get their instant gratification.

Marik and Malik were enjoying the spotlight. They thought all the interviews and letters from eighteen-year-old girls saying 'I'll vote for you if you marry me!' were good signs. Kaiba said that was negative attention.

Kerry and Edwards weren't getting love letters but they were getting a lot of interviews and T.V opportunities. After that little fiasco at the debate, Kerry laid off calling Marik names on T.V and radio shows. Instead, he tried to talk about the issues... poverty, war, and too many sitcoms.

Kaiba was trying extra hard to get people to vote for Marik on voting day, which was on November 2nd. With it being only two weeks away he didn't have a minute to lose. He made sure that posters of Marik were in every state, every city.

In the morning when he would drive by people's houses he'd sometimes see 'Vote for Kerry' signs. He would then replace it with a 'Go far with Ishtar' sign.

As each day passed and November 2nd got closer and closer, Marik become more ecstatic and peppy. He'd walk around smiling and humming to himself in the morning. And every night he'd use sock puppets to act out the day of when he'd be 'crowned' president. He thought he was going to get a crown...

Malik hadn't changed much. He didn't think Marik had changed either... except for the sock puppets. They were actually behaving more like their old selves instead of professional and presidential. They still argued over sandwiches and they were still crazy.

Soon, the day before voting day came. Marik and Malik were a bit nervous even though Kaiba and Sanders were trying their best to keep them calm. They were all in the hotel room talking about how different it would be if they became president and vice-president.

"It'll be awesome!" Marik shouted, "We'll get to live in the White House and we'll have maids and butlers... and body guards! No one will be able to come within ten feet of us! And as president, my first official thingy to do is paint the White House. And then rename it the Red House."

"What?! That's not fair, don't I get a say it the new color?" Malik asked.

"Fine, Malik. What color do _you_ want it to be?"

"I like purple."

"Okay. The new color will be red with purple polka dots."

"You're both insane." Kaiba said, "No one's gonna paint the White House. It's a historic monument. Much like everything else in D.C."

"Whatever." Marik folded his arms, "I'll be president, so what I say goes. And I'm gonna have a big statue of myself, it'll be giant! I'll build it right on top of that Lincoln Memorial thingy... that's been there long enough."

"Marik told me that we're gonna move the White House."

"Where?" Sanders asked.

"Las Vegas!" Marik grinned, "That's gonna be the new capitol! D.C is too... boring."

"Do whatever you want to." Kaiba said, "Just don't forget our deal."

"What deal..." Marik thought for a second, "Oh yeah! You want your holiday, don't ya?"

"That's right. That's why I've been doing this whole thing. I want my St. Kaiba Day. I've given it a lot of thought and I've decided to replace Labor Day with it. Trees are boring anyway."

"You are all nuts. Kaiba wants a holiday named after him, Marik wants to move the White House to Las Vegas... Malik wants to paint it purple. The world's gone insane."

"Well, what about you Sanders?" Malik asked, "You can't be doing all this just for us. You must be getting something out of this."

"Actually, I'm building my reputation with this election. Once people find out that I got Marik into office, next election people will be going crazy to hire me to work on getting them elected. I've got it all planned out."

"I thought it was something like that." Kaiba said, "Hey, has anyone heard anything from Yami and Yugi lately? They've been kinda quiet lately."

"Yeah, actually. Yugi's got released from the hospital yesterday. He'd broken his arm, and had a concussion from that fall he took on the day of the debate." Malik shook his head in pity.

"That's a damn shame." Marik sighed, "What a lightweight Yugi is. Malik took that same fall, and look at him. He didn't hurt his head."

"That's right. I'm hard headed."

"You sure are..." Kaiba muttered.

"Alright, we've got something to discuss. Since tomorrow's Election Day... we need to make sure you both know what you're doing." Sanders looked at Marik and Malik. "You know that you're voting for yourself, right Marik?"

"Duh! Of course I'm course I'm going to vote for myself. What, you think I'm stupid or something?"

"No, of course not. Just making sure you know the routine. We'll be going early in the morning to beat the rush and everything. Malik, you know to vote for Marik as well, right?"

He nodded.

"Good. The last thing we need is more screw-ups."

"What do you mean _more_ screw-ups?"

"We've had so many 'accidents' it's not even funny. Every time we do something it ends up strangely off balance and discombobulated." Kaiba said.

"Discombobulated is an under statement..."

"Hey!" Marik argued, "It wasn't all 'discombobulated'. For the most part, I say we've done really good. We wouldn't be this far if we weren't doing well."

Kaiba agreed, "I guess you're right. If you've come this far, you must be doing something right. I suppose you're just lucky..."

"Luck has nothing to do with it." Marik smirked, "It's the fact that I'm irresistible to everyone I come in contact with. You see all those love letters me and Malik get."

"I refuse to believe that your face and body has anything to do with you getting this far!"

Marik ignored Kaiba's comment, "Besides. We've done really good things during the past ten months. We got Bush out of the country and we exposed Kerry for the fake that he is. That's a lot of work for two teens that just nod off on the couch all day."

"Well... yeah." Malik said, "But since no one really knows if either story is true or not... how are they gonna know who to vote for?"

"They'll just have to go with their instincts. Since all that information's been released... the whole things basically a popularity contest now."

"Ha ha!" Marik stood up, "I'm more popular than Kerry! I'm more popular than Kerry-"

"Only with the younger people. Mostly women in their thirties and younger. Men, too. But Kerry's got the old people, which could weigh heavily." Sanders said, "But I checked the polls yesterday and you and Kerry are almost even. But anything could change over night."

"That's right. All you can do now is think positive thoughts."

"Positive thoughts... I'm thinking of me with a large crown and a big black cape. I'm ruling you all with an iron fist!"

"Yoo-hoo, Marik. Come back to reality." Sanders waved his hand in Marik's face, "How many times am I going to have to tell you? You're not getting a crown."

"Well, I'll be president. So what I say goes."

"Is Kerry gonna vote tomorrow, too?" Malik asked.

"Yes, of course. Him and Edwards and everyone else who wants to vote as well." Kaiba replied.

"Are you voting, Kaiba?" Malik tilted his head, "Who are you voting for?"

Before Kaiba could say anything, Marik butted in, "He'd better be voting for **me**!"

"Clamp it, Marik!" He shouted, "Yeah, I _suppose_ I'll vote for you."

"Aw, stop playing. You know you would've voted for us anyway. Besides the fact that you wouldn't get your holiday... you know you really like us. We're your only friends!" Marik smirked.

"You are not my only friends!"

"Aw, look! Kaiba's red in the face!"

"Cut it out, Marik!" he frowned, "The only reason I'm voting for you is because I've invested a lot of money in this, and I don't want to see it all go down the drain."

"Sure it is. Admit it, you have fun with us, don't ya?" he started to pinch Kaiba's cheeks, "Yes you do!"

"Stop it!"


	19. Election Day

Dreams of power

Chapter 19:

November 2nd. Every four years the same thing happens. On November 2nd the people take a break from their normal routine to go down and vote for the new leader of their country. Many people consider that day to be what America is really about. Democracy and the equality of man... But what did Marik think of this day?

"The day I'm crowned king of the world!" he shouted as he and his hikari rode in the limo that Kaiba sent for them. "Life is good."

"You're not getting a crown, Marik. And neither am I for that matter... All you get if you win is a ceremony. Kaiba said so."

"So what? I can buy my own crown. Ya know, Paris Hilton has a designer line of Tiaras. Maybe I'll get one."

"Tiara? That's a girly crown!"

"I don't care. All I need is something that says 'Ruler of the no longer free world.' Then I'll be happy."

They were quiet the rest of the way to the voting place. In about ten more minutes they arrived at a large building and saw Kaiba and Sanders leaning on the wall near the door. Marik got out of the limo first and Malik followed.

"Hey guys." They said in unison.

"Hi, Malik. Hi, Marik." Sanders said, "Ready for the big day?"

Marik nodded, "Yup. Hey, how come no one else is here?"

"This voting poll is conserved for only the people that are on the ballots." Kaiba answered, "But since me and Sanders are with you, we'll be voting here as well."

Marik groaned, "Aw, does this mean that blowhard, Kerry is gonna be here? Man, I can't stand that guy!"

"Well, if we hurry this up, maybe we'll miss him." Sanders opened the door and motioned for everyone to go in.

As they walked inside the building they felt a rush of unnatural cold air. Kind of like when you go into the doctor's office...

Malik shivered, "Ra, it's freezing in here!"

"They turn the cold the air on all the way to keep the germs out." Marik said, "They think we have cooties."

"What?"

"It's true."

"Oh, it is not!" Kaiba turned around, "Marik, stop messing with Malik's head. Can we just get this over with?"

"Yeah, sure, fine, whatever."

"Okay then," Sanders began, "This is how it's going to work... You will each go into your own booth. Once you close the curtains, a ballot will slip out of a small machine. You use the puncher to make a hole by the name of the person you want to vote for. It's as simple as that. Once you're done, put your ballot in the envelope and come back here to put it in the box. And then we can leave."

"Right." Malik said, "So, uh... we can go in now?"

"Yep." Kaiba was already half way inside his booth.

Marik had gone in his own booth as well. He closed to the red curtain and turned around to see the little machine that Sanders had told them about. It was set on a little brown desk and it already had a ballot set in it.

He looked up and down the ballot, his name was second to last on the little piece of paper.

'My name should have been first.' He thought as he punched the hole in next to it. He slid it down through the screen and took an envelope from the side. After he put the ballot in, he turned around to leave the booth.

Malik, however, was having a bit more trouble. He couldn't seem to punch the hole through the ballot. For about five minutes he'd been trying desperately to push down on the punching machine. If he forced it down anymore he might've broken it.

'Darn it! Why won't you go down?' He stopped and leaned against the wall, 'Alright, think... if the darn thing won't go down my machine... then maybe it'll go down if I just tear it out...'

He took the ballot out from under the screen and pushed his finger through the hole by Marik's name. All it did was make a rip about the size of someone's middle finger.

"Oh no!" he squeaked.

He stuck his head out of the booth and looked at Kaiba, Marik, and Sanders. "Does anyone have some... uh, tape?"

"Tape?!" Marik raised a brow, "Malik, what have you done?"

"Nothing... I'm just... a little hungry."

"So, you're asking for tape?"

"Uh... yes." He smiled meekly, "Please?"

Kaiba went over to the front desk and took a roll of tape, then walked over and handed it to Malik. "Whatever you've done in there, it better not cost me a dime."

He nodded as he took the tape. When he turned around, he picked the ballot up and taped it so that a hole was next to Marik's name and no one else's.

"Okay." He said when he got out, "I'm all done."

"Good." Sanders said, "As you can see, all the other candidates are here."

Malik looked around, "Where's Kerry and Edwards?"

"Oh, who cares?!" Marik pouted, "Come on, let's leave before..."

Just as he headed for the door, Kerry and his 'people' came through. Kerry looked at him for a second, Marik returned the stare.

They hadn't seen each other in a while, that's why this sudden meeting was a little surprising. Marik could have just walked right past him, and not said anything. Key word: could.

"So, Kerry... looking forward to losing what you've worked so hard for the past year?"

"I have no intention of losing to an emotional teenager." He said calmly.

"Teenager?! I'm a grown man!" he pouted, "And I am not emotional!"

"Whatever. If you'll excuse me, I have an election to win."

"Yeah, yeah... you're so transparent. I can see how worried you are about losing to me."

"Me? Lose to you? That's the most preposterous thing I've heard all day. You're the least of my worries in this election."

"The least of your worries? Please. You know as well as I do that this election is practically a two-man race. No one else matters!"

Every other candidate in the room looked at him. Yet, he continued, "I mean, really. Do you even hear about these other jokers on the news? Hell, no! No one cares about them. It's you and me, buddy!"

"..." he raised his eyebrow.

"Marik, will you control yourself?!" Kaiba was right behind him, "You're making a scene!"

"But, you know what, Kerry? I'm gonna win."

"You don't think I'm confident in myself?" Kerry laughed, "Fine. To prove to you how confident I am that I will win... _I'm _not going to vote."

"Huh?"

"That's right. I'm not going to vote. Not for me, not for anyone."

"Oh no, I want you to vote." Marik said, "I want you to try your hardest to get to the top... only to come tumbling down! You better be ready for it, John Kerry!"

"You're the one who needs to be ready for it, Marik Ishtar!"

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

"Bring it on foot-face! Bring... it...on!!!"

"Come on, you!" Kaiba and Malik had grabbed Marik and were now dragging him, kicking and screaming out of the building.

Once they threw him in the limo and started to drive off the last words audible by Marik were, "It's gonna be me, Kerry! It's gonna be ME!" he then passed out.


	20. And the president is?

Dreams of power

Chapter 20:

By nine o' clock that night they were back in the city of Domino. Marik and Malik wanted to go back to their house to watch the results that night. As you may or may not know... Marik never does anything on a low scale. He and Malik invited everyone they knew to their 'Marik's going to rule you all' party.

No surprise that Yami and Yugi didn't show. They weren't invited anyway. But Kaiba and Sanders were there, of course. So were Ryou and Bakura along with Joey, Tristan, Duke and Mai.

About two or three news reporters were there. They were going around the room interviewing people who hadn't fallen down drunk or people who weren't in the closet doing who knows what.

Marik made Kaiba buy an 82-inch screen T.V just for the occasion. A good chunk of Kaiba's pocket money was also spent on food, drinks, and Pepto-Bismol. Decorations consisted of confetti, balloons, and party games. Marik's favorite game was something he made up, called 'Pin the tail on the Kerry.'

"Woo-whoo!" Joey shouted, "I finally did it!" after three tries, Joey had finally stuck the tail in the center of Kerry's butt.

"My turn, my turn!" Ryou said from behind him.

Joey put the blindfold on Ryou and handed him the tail. As Ryou groped around the room to find the poster, Joey went to go find Marik. He hadn't had a chance to congratulate him on getting this far in the election.

When he finally found him, Marik was wrestling the remote away from Malik who was trying to keep the channel on the Golden Girls.

"No, Malik! We have to keep the channel on the news! What if they show the results right when we turn the channel?!"

"What are the odds of that happening?"

"A billion to one. But it could still happen!" he tugged one more time on the remote, and sent Malik tumbling off the couch.

"Ouch..." He rubbed his head and looked up to see his yami flip back to the Fox News station.

_A man came on screen, "In about an hour we should have the results of the voting today..." He went on to say how exciting this night is._

"See, Marik? An hour."

"Oh, well. We're keeping it here." He turned around to see Joey standing behind the couch, "Oh, hey Joey."

"...Uh, hey Marik. Congrats on winning the-"

Marik's hand covered Joey's mouth, "No! You can't say I'm gonna... you know, beat Kerry until afterwards."

"How come?" he asked through Marik's hand.

"It's bad luck, silly. If you say that, I'll be cursed to lose."

He pushed Marik's hand away, "You're the one being silly. I can't believe you think that. It's like believing in the Tooth Fairy or Santa Clause."

"It is not. Besides, Santa is real."

"You're insane."

"Maybe so... but I'm going to be president soon."

"Ugh... don't remind me." Joey walked off towards one of the food tables.

After Malik stood up he looked behind him to see Kaiba and Sanders, they were waiting for him to notice them standing there for about two minutes, "Oh, hey guys. Are you enjoying the party?"

"I still think you're over doing it with this huge party, Malik." Kaiba said, "I mean really, do you even know most of these people? I've never seen some of these people before."

"Neither have I. Marik says he hasn't seen some of these people either. I guess they must have just walked in."

Sanders' jaw dropped, "What?! You're letting crashers in here? What's wrong with you? That's dangerous! They could have guns or something!"

"Big crowds are fun! It makes the festivities more interesting. Ryou thinks that guy over there is a hobo. I'm not entirely sure, though..." he pointed to a guy sitting in the corner drinking a bottle of vodka. He was wrapped in a smelly blanket and had a grayish beard.

"...I can't believe this..." Sanders and Kaiba said in unison.

"Can't believe what?" Marik came over, "What's wrong?"

"You have hobo's in you're house, you dunce!"

"Really? Where?"

Kaiba pointed his finger towards the smelly vagrant in the corner. Marik looked over at him and smiled, "Oh, him? No, he isn't homeless. He lives on the number #23 bus. His name is Potato Joe. Don't worry about him... he won't do anything. Uh, just don't ask him where his toes went. You'll regret it forever."

"This is ridiculous." Kaiba sighed.

"Anyway, Kaiba, could you take over for a while? Malik and me are going to the store to get more ice. We need you to watch the party while we're gone. Can you do that? We'll be back before they announce the results of the voting."

"What? Why me?"

"You're the most responsible person we know." Malik answered, "Later Kaiba. Take good care of our house." They walked out the front door and left Kaiba and Sanders in the living room

"Oh, great." Sanders shook his head, "My fondest wish... to be left in charge of a party with hobos, drunk teens, and Pepto-Bismol. I've sunk to an all time low..."

"Oh, relax. They'll only be gone for twenty minutes... how much can happen in twenty minutes?"

"Hey Kaiba!" Bakura came over, "You seen Marik or Malik? We got a problem."

"They went to the store. I'm in charge until they get back. Um, what's the problem?"

"Well, two naked hobos are in the kitchen wrestling over a sandwich. It's causing a bit of a crowd... Ryou sent me in here to tell Marik."

"What?! Why are they doing that? Last time I checked there were plenty of sandwiches in the kitchen."

"Well, there are. But that's the last one with turkey bacon. It's low fat."

"Why the hell should hobos care about losing weight?!"

"I dunno, but you need to get in there before they tear the kitchen apart."

"Aw, man!"

So, they rushed into the kitchen to see exactly what Bakura was talking about. After pushing through a small crowd, they could see the middle of the kitchen floor. And sure enough two dirty, smelly, naked hobos were going at it. Kaiba recognized one of the hobos as 'Potato Joe' from in the living room. His dirty blanket was cast aside near the refrigerator door. Kaiba supposed the other hobo just came naked...

"This is disgusting. Grown men should act more appropriately in public." Sanders said.

"Man, what do you really expect from hobos? They eat from garbage cans!" Kaiba tiptoed closer to the fight, "Hey! Excuse me! Do you think you could... stop, please? Hey, listen to me!"

A little yelp came from Potato Joe who just got slung over to the opposite side of the room by the other one. I guess having no toes is really a disadvantage in this kind of situation.

"Kaiba, do something!" Ryou called from behind his yami, "They already knocked over the cupcakes!"

Kaiba ignored him as he tried to help Potato Joe off the ground, as nasty as it was to touch a naked hobo he had to do it. The other one was over at the counter chomping away at his turkey bacon sandwich.

Half of it was gone when Potato Joe found his footing and rushed over to see the hobo take another bite. Before he could finish it off Joe slapped the sandwich out of his hand and it flew over to hit Sanders in the face.

"Ah! Help me!" He squeaked as the hungry hobo's jumped on him and started to eat the sandwich off his face, "Mrm!" A mumble came from Sanders as he tried to fight them off.

"Ugh!" Kaiba groaned in disbelief, "Bad things happen when Marik and Malik are around and bad things happen when they aren't... I just can't win!"

As Ryou and Bakura helped Sanders fight off the now full hobos he sighed, "Kaiba! Why didn't you help me?"

"Sorry, Sanders. But I was busy contemplating the ways of my pathetic life."

"Well, I think-"

THUD! He was cut off by a crash upstairs. BOOM! It came again, this time louder. Everyone in the kitchen looked up at in the ceiling.

"Oh, what now?" Kaiba said to himself, "Alright, I'm going to see what's happening upstairs. Bakura, you come with me. Ryou, you help Sanders clean the kitchen."

Bakura followed him up the stairs into the hallway. All the doors were closed. Kaiba motioned for Bakura to check the rooms on the left side and he would check the right.

When Kaiba looked inside the attic, there were about ten couples making out. Same thing for the master bedroom... but nothing too abnormal to cause a loud thud, not a thud as loud as the one they heard, anyway.

"Hey, Kaiba. I think I found the cause of that noise we heard." Bakura was standing by the bathroom door.

Kaiba walked over and peeked inside, "Oh, hell no!"

There was a fountain coming out of the toilet. Kind of like the ones you see out side of places like Disney World... or the bank.

"What the hell happened here?!" Kaiba directed this remark to the man standing next to the toilet with a wrench in his hand.

"Uh... I fixed the toilet." He said in his country accent.

"It didn't need fixing!"

"You mean this isn't 5657 Richmond Street?"

"No, it's not. Wait a minute, who the hell are you?"

"I'm your friendly neighborhood plumber, Gus. I got a call a little while ago about a broken toilet. I knocked on the door and some naked, dirty man let me in."

"Damn hobos." Kaiba mumbled, "Listen, _Gus_. This isn't 5657 Richmond Street. So, go fix someone else's toilet."

"Uh, okay." He stumbled out the door and proceeded down stairs.

"How are we gonna fix what that guy obviously broke?" Bakura took a step back because the water was starting to touch his shoes, "Should I get a mop?"

"Yeah... I'll, uh, fix the toilet."

"Right." Bakura went out and soon came back with a mop and a wrench that he wrestled away from Gus. He handed the wrench to Kaiba, and he set to work.

Five minutes into the job Bakura stopped mopping to look at Kaiba, "Jeez, I didn't know you were so handy with a wrench, Kaiba."

"Hanging around with Marik and Malik... I'm handy with a lot of things."

"I see."

Two more minutes and the mopping and fixing were all finished. Just as soon as they put up the stuff they used, Marik and Malik walked through the door.

"Uh, hey guys." Kaiba said, slouching back into the couch. "Back already?"

"Sorry, it took us longer than expected." Malik said, "We were surrounded by fans. That's gotta be a good sign, right?"

Marik sat down beside Kaiba, "So, anything happen while we were gone?"

"Well... No, not really."

"I'm going to put the ice up before it melts," Malik walked into the kitchen, once he got there he noticed it was much cleaner than when they left.

_"I have just been informed that we now have the voting results." The anchorman on the news said._

"Hey, hey!" Sanders called, "Malik, come in here! They're about to announce the results! Someone, turn it up!"

"I'm coming!" Malik rushed into the living room and jumped on the couch, "Oh, this is so exciting!"

Soon, everyone in the entire house was gathered around the T.V. The music was turned completely off and it was dead quite as they awaited the man to speak once again.

_The man was handed an envelope and as he opened it, "And now, I am proud to announce to all of America... The president of, this, our great nation for the next four years will be..._


	21. It took two

Dreams of power

Chapter 21:

_...JOHN KERRY!" he finished his sentence and shouts of glee could be heard from inside the studio._

Marik's house, however, was full with looks of disbelief and shock. Sanders had fainted, and so did a couple others that heard the upsetting news.

"We LOST?!" Malik asked to no one in particular, "W-we actually lost?!"

"..." Marik's mouth was wide open but no words came out.

Kaiba rubbed his head, "Where's the Pepto-Bismol? I think I'm gonna be sick..."

Ryou brought him the pink bottle and he took it in his hand, "Kaiba, don't you want a cup?"

He shook his head as he swallowed the entire bottle. When he finished, he threw the bottle on the floor and tackled Marik.

"Ah! Hey! What are you doing?!" Marik yelled as they both went rolling on the floor.

"You idiot! What did you do wrong?!"

"What?! You think this whole thing is my fault? You must be joking!"

"Ugh!" Kaiba eased off of him and held his head, "How could this have happened? I mean, sure... everything didn't go exactly as planned. But Marik had Kerry beat! I knew it!"

_Ring, Ring, Ring! _The phone started to ring.

Marik picked it up, "This is the house of depressed losers... Marik speaking..."

"Ha, ha!" it was Yugi's voice, "You lost, Marik!"

"Yugi?! What the hell?!"

"Yup, it's me. Yami and I are at John Kerry's celebration party. I bet the joy and happiness kinda tapered off at yours, eh?"

"Why did you call?"

"To show you that good always triumphs over evil!"

"Good?! Kerry is a crooked thief that makes fake purple hearts! You call that good?"

"It's better having him in office than you and Malik. I told you that you wouldn't get away with it. And you haven't-" Marik hung up the phone.

When he turned back around he saw Kaiba reviving Sanders and Malik starring at him, "Who was it?"

"Yugi. He called to rub it in our face! I can't believe this! This is the biggest disappointment I've ever known!"

"I can't believe we went through all that for nothing. Almost a year of our life... wasted on some election... I think I've been traumatized... again."

"Hey, guys." Bakura sat in between them, "Sorry you lost. But don't worry about it. It wasn't that important anyway."

"Wasn't that important?!" Marik shouted, "Bakura, this was totally important. It was our ticket to the world! It would have been cake for us to take over with that kind of power."

"Now, some guy with a foot for a face has stolen it from us."

"Unbelievable." Kaiba stated, "This is just... just... unbelievable."

They all sat there in a long silence for about half an hour until... _Ring, Ring, Ring!_ The phone started again.

"I'll get it." Malik turned around and picked it up, "Hello?"

"Malik? Where's Marik?! I'm gonna get him for hanging up on Yugi!"

"Yami? What do you guys want?"

"I just thought you'd like to know... you lost by two votes."

"We did what?!"

"Two votes. They just said so on the news. They say it's the closest race in the history of the presidential election. It's amazing to me... to think... just two votes..."

Malik slammed the receiver down on the hook and whirled around, "Marik!"

"What is it, Malik? I'm sulking over here."

"We lost the election by just two votes!"

"Huh?!" he turned around to face Malik and an equally surprised Kaiba, "We lost by two votes?!"

"Yeah. Who do you think didn't vote for us?"

"Probably Yami and Yugi..."

"Hold on!" Kaiba looked at them both, "I think I know who didn't vote for you."

"Who?"

"You guys."

"What?!" Marik huffed, "That's ridiculous. Of course we voted for us. You were with us."

"Malik screwed up his voting ballot. He didn't think I saw but when he asked for tape today... I saw the way his ballot looked. There was no way the computers would count that for anything more than trash."

"But that still doesn't-"

"And Marik, remember when Kerry said he wouldn't vote to prove his confidence? Then you told him to vote. He must've done it after we left and so that's two votes that you didn't get. You both are the reason you're sitting here."

"You've gotta be kidding!" Marik fell back and sighed, "What a day... first I lost the election... then I find out I'm the reason for it."

"This is just too much, Marik. I don't know how much more I can take."

"That's too bad, guys." Joey said, "America would've been real interesting with you two running it."

Marik turned around, "You know, Joey, this is half your fault too."

"What?! How?"

"I told you it was bad luck to congratulate me on winning before I actually won! You cursed me!"

"That's the most-"

"Shut up, the both of you." Kaiba said, "I've got a headache..."

"But Kaiba!" Marik whined, "Joey cursed me!"

"I did not-"

"Ooh..." Sanders became conscious, "K-Kaiba?"

"Oh, you're up?"

"You'll never guess what a weird dream I had... I dreamt that Marik loss the election. It was so-"

"Real."

"What?"

"Real." Kaiba repeated, "He did lose and you passed out."

Sanders looked back at Marik and Malik, "That's not true, is it?"

They nodded solemnly.

"Oh my god..." he passed out again.

"Jeez, what a wimp." Malik said.

Kaiba stood up, "He has every right to pass out! I would've done the same thing but I'm not a sissy. I can't believe so much time and money was spent on something that was doomed to fail from the very beginning."

Marik waved away his comment, "Aw, you're not mad about that."

"I most certainly am mad about that!"

"No, you're not. You're just upset about not having your St. Kaiba Day."

He gave a wistful smile, "Okay... so maybe I am upset about not having my own national holiday. I mean, I must admit... it would have been so cool to have a day named after me! But... I guess I'll never have that, will I?" he glared at Marik.

"Oh..." Malik moaned, "This is so... unbelievable. Ugh... today has just been-"

"A tall disappointment." Marik finished his hikari's sentence, "A very tall disappointment."

Kaiba picked Sanders up off the floor and headed for the door.

Malik and Marik looked at him, "Hey, where are you going?"

"First, I'm sending Sanders back to L.A. Then I'm going home."

"Home?!"

"Yes, home! Somewhere I haven't been for then past eleven months! Good-bye, Marik and Malik. And good-luck with the rest of your life. May I never be in it." And with that he walked out of the door.


	22. Practice makes perfect

Dreams of power

Chapter 22:

The next week was a boring one. All the lights and cameras were now on John Kerry. Everyone was asking him questions about Iraq and war and poverty. Of course, the first couple of days after Election Day the news was covering Marik and how he was only two votes away from being in the White House.

Kerry and Edwards were as busy as ever dealing with people and their questions. When he gave his acceptance speech he rarely spoke of anything news related. All he said was how good it felt to finally assume his rightful place in America. He was on every channel almost every day. He was going to have to get used to all this extra attention.

Sanders had gone back to Los Angeles. Although he had kept passing out and was thinking about therapy, his life was starting to get back to normal. Even though he lost the race with Marik and Malik he was getting a little publicity from the small time government elections. You know, mayor and governor... he was getting by.

Kaiba had, as he said, returned home. Even though he house was in the same town as Marik and Malik, he tried to forget all the things that happened during that eleven months. Now that he was back he could concentrate on Kaiba Corp more, instead of trying to win an election. Although he forced himself to forget Marik and Malik... sometimes traces of their adventure would creep into his mind and he'd find himself with a small smile on his face.

Yami and Yugi were absolutely thrilled about the outcome of the election. They were tired of being thrown into closets and beaten up. Every now and then they'd call Marik and rub it in just a little bit more. But that stopped immediately when Marik put a horse's head in their bed. Since then... they kind of kept quiet.

As for Marik and Malik...

"Aw! We almost had it, Malik! Almost! It was so close... so, so close..."

"Come on, Marik. Get over it already. It's over."

Marik had been moping around the house for the past week. He just couldn't get it through his head that he and Malik had lost. Malik had that fact down, but his yami has always been... dramatic. So, to try and help his yami, Malik got rid of everything that reminded Marik of the past eleven months. The 'How to Become President' book they used before they got Kaiba and Sanders. The buttons and flags... all that was thrown away.

Actually, when the election was over and Marik and Malik came back for good... the neighborhood came back to reality. All the signs were taken from people's front yards, doors, and car windows. They put everything away. And as soon as all the spectators forgot the excitement of the election... they treated Marik like they did before he became famous... like a seventeen-year-old boy that terrorizes old people and makes daily life a living hell.

Malik was the only one that new how to control Marik during times like these. "Marik, forget about it... it'll only make you more upset." He said, sitting next to Marik on the couch.

"I can't forget about it!" He leaned back, "It's gnawing at me every day. Just two more votes... can you believe that? Two more votes and bam, we wouldn't ever have to worry about anything. We could've taken over easily and..."

"Do you really think it would have been that easy? To take over the world after winning one election?"

"Duh! Where have you been? America's got a great army and we would've used it to conquer the world!"

"We're lucky we got as far as we did in that race."

"Luck? How can you say that? All that was pure talent. Besides... it takes practice to win an election. No one wins on the first try."

"You kidding me? This was John Kerry's first time. And look at him... he's sipping guava juice in the oval office. It's sickening."

Marik tasseled his hikari's hair, "There's the Malik I know. Jealousy is a beautiful thing."

"... Do you think Kaiba and Sanders were the reason we got that far?"

"Kaiba? Maybe... his money was sure helpful. And Sanders just fainted all over the place."

"Do you think Kaiba hates us now?"

"No way. Kaiba's just a big softie at heart. No way in the world he'd hate _us_. Besides the fact that we're his only friends... we're just too damn adorable."

Malik giggled.

"But..." he sighed, "It still would have been nice to be on the White House right about now..."

"Aw, come on, Marik. This election is over. Everyone, including Kaiba, has probably forgotten the whole thing. You should too."

"Have you?"

"Well... no. But that's because awful-no, horrible things happened to me!"

"..."

"I almost got shot... twice. I was forced to kidnap someone. I was forced to videotape Bush and Michael Jackson. I was knocked out by a frying pan! And... I had to go on T.V way too many times to count. And you know I'm camera shy!"

"So, in short... you had the time for your life and you want to do it again."

"Were you even listening to me?"

"Yup." He sighed, "I wish it could've happened differently... I would have never told Kerry to vote if I knew the polls would be so... close."

"Well..." Malik smiled, "You know there's always _next_ election."

"Huh?"

"Next election."

"Hey, I didn't even think about that!"

"That's what a vice president is for, silly. To give the president ideas so he'll look good."

"Vice presidents are the best idea ever." He winked.

"But, since the next election is along way away... we might as well go back to our old way of trying to achieve world domination. That'll get you're mind off things."

"Our old way?"

"You've forgotten already? Yugi and Yami came back from D.C yesterday. I think they're at the Game Shop."

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about them. Right, so let's go."

Malik followed his yami off the sofa and out the door. As Marik turned around and locked the door a sign on the ground caught his eye.

He looked down and saw a blue and red sign that said, 'Go far with Ishtar'.

Malik, who was half way down the driveway, saw what Marik was looking at, "Come on, Marik! That millennium puzzle isn't gonna steal itself!"

"Right, I'm coming." He started to walk, 'Malik's right. I don't know what I'm moping about. After all... there's always 2008."

**THE END... **


End file.
